Real Madrid superstar exposed by surprising numbers in recent study
A recent study by the CIES Football Observatory has highlighted that Kylian Mbappe covers one of the lowest distances without the ball among top players, raising questions about his defensive contribution at Real Madrid. While he is in the company of stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in this regard, the findings have intensified scrutiny on his overall team involvement. The report comes amid growing pressure on Mbappe as Real Madrid face challenges in maintaining dominance on the pitch.
- ▪The CIES Football Observatory study analyzed off-ball work of players across 46 leagues.
- ▪Kylian Mbappe ranks fifth among players who cover the least distance when their team is not in possession.
- ▪Mbappe is grouped with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Artem Dzyuba, and Sebastian Villa in this metric.
- ▪The findings have sparked discussion about Mbappe's defensive contributions and team integration at Real Madrid.
- ▪Real Madrid are experiencing a difficult period, with high expectations not being met by consistent results.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/real-madrid-superstar-exposed-surprising-070000436.html","headline":"Real Madrid superstar exposed by surprising numbers in recent study","datePublished":"2026-05-01T07:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-01T07:00:00.000Z","keywords":["Real Madrid","Kylian Mbappe","Cristiano Ronaldo","Lionel Messi","CIES Football Observatory","Artem Dzyuba","Sebastian Villa"],"description":"A fresh report has added more pressure on Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid, and this time, it is not about goals, but what he does without the ball.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Yahoo Sports.