Mbappe's heat map a spoiler of Anfield test

Kylian Mbappe's position in the Real Madrid attack is one of the debates of this first half of the season. Although, with him, it seems that Carlo Ancelotti has one of the best attacking lines on the planet, sums are not mathematics in sport and the connivance of top players can even be detrimental to his talent. Over the last few weeks, how to pair the Frenchman with Vinicius Junior has been a lot of work for the 'Merengues' board.

The resounding defeat against Barcelona in ‘El Clasico’ in La Liga and the setback against Milan in the Champions League, with the former Paris Saint-Germain player playing his football not only on the left, but also in the centre and even dropping to the right, showed that this is not the ideal position to get the most out of his dribbling and finishing skills. The dysfunction reached an evident level in the ‘Rossoneri’ visit: he barely stepped on the left flank.

Back to domestic action, his coach switched him to the other side and he noticed the difference almost instantly: wins over Osasuna 4-0 and Leganes 0-3. The reader will rightly imagine that these performances should not be taken as a perfect reflection of improvement because both the ‘Rojillos’ and the ‘Pepineros’ pose less imposing threats than the ‘Cules’ and the San Siro outfit.

Still, in a sense, Real Madrid have used their meetings with Jagoba Arrasate and Borja Jimenez's side as a testing ground to increase the attacking impact of Mbappe in their scheme. It is quite likely that he will repeat in one of the fixtures highlighted in red on the calendar, the trip to Anfield for matchday 5 of the Champions League. Arne Slot's side are the best team, so far, in the main continental competition. At the same time, they lead the Premier League.

In individual terms, the No 9 is not yet showing the tyrannical goalscoring profile that characterised him in France, although he did have several chances against Navarre and ended his drought at Butarque. In the first of these occasions, Vinicius hit a hat trick and Jude Bellingham was on target again. In the second, he broke the deadlock and saw Fede Valverde join in and the Briton repeated.

Perhaps therein lies the key to his performance in Ancelotti's scheme: in being more of a catalyst for goals than a direct producer of them. In any case, in order to make the most of this talent, it will be necessary to certify, as soon as possible, what his ideal position is in his coach's plan. If the head-to-head with the Reds on the European stage is favourable to him, the debate will come to a close; if not, it will be time to reexamine a heat map whose changes are evident.