Mbappe Delivers Brutal Reality Check: Exposes Real Madrid's Critical Flaw in Damning Verdict

Kylian Mbappé attributed Real Madrid's expensive 4–2 loss to Benfica in Wednesday's Champions League match to a single factor—Los Blancos' insufficient motivation to secure victory.

"This isn't about skill level, and it's not about strategy," Mbappé told journalists in Lisbon, following the defeat that eliminated Los Blancos from the league phase's top eight positions.

"It comes down to wanting it more than your adversary. You could observe that Benfica had everything to play for, and that wasn't evident with us, which is concerning."

Benfica required a victory and an improved goal differential to squeeze into the top 24.

A win might have allowed Real Madrid to climb as high as third position, while even a tie would have secured fifth place. However, there were still consequences, and the defeat resulted in ninth place instead, forcing them into the additional two-match knockout playoff rather than advancing directly to the round of 16.

Mbappé was puzzled why Real Madrid failed to perform to their capabilities with so much on the line, comparing it to their much better showing against Villarreal in La Liga just days before.

"I don't have a definitive answer. It wasn't like our performance against Villarreal, and that's troubling," he stated. "We're lacking consistency in our performances. We need to address this. We can't excel one match, then falter the next. Championship teams don't operate that way."

The Cost to Real Madrid

The Cost to Real Madrid

Mbappé had hoped for "time in February to develop our gameplay" during training sessions, but that opportunity has vanished. Instead, two midweek periods next month that would have been free will now be occupied by matches, and Los Blancos will discover on Friday whether they must face Bødo/Glimt or Benfica to advance to the next stage that many of their primary competitors have already secured.

The additional fixtures will take place on Feb. 17/18 and Feb. 24/25, with Álvaro Arbeloa's squad playing at home in the Santiago Bernabéu for the second leg.

The Spanish Super Cup has concluded and Real are eliminated from the Copa del Rey, so the scheduling congestion impact could have been more severe.

Nevertheless, these are two additional matches that were completely preventable when there are five La Liga games scheduled from Feb. 1 to March 1, inclusive.

Real Madrid Upcoming Fixtures

Real Madrid Upcoming Fixtures

Mbappé's Chance for Another Champions League Record Increases

Mbappé's Chance for Another Champions League Record Increases

Searching for a positive aspect, the knockout playoff stage presents an opportunity that will assist Mbappé in his pursuit of creating more history this season.

He has already become the new leading scorer in Champions League group stage/league phase history with 13 goals in seven matches during the opening round, surpassing a long-standing Cristiano Ronaldo record. His next target is the most goals scored in a single Champions League campaign, currently owned by Ronaldo.

Obviously, participating in two additional games improves his chances of breaking that milestone. The record stands at 17, established by Ronaldo during Real Madrid's championship-winning 2013–14 season, meaning Mbappé needs four more to match it and a fifth to surpass it. If Los Blancos continue advancing, he could have up to nine remaining matches.