Mbappe and the Defensive Question: When Goals Aren't Enough to Silence Critics

Incheon, late one evening, I sat rewatching Mbappé's highlights this season. Five goals in five games – numbers any striker would dream of. But in the virtual press room, where I jot down his every answer through a screen, the questions didn't stop at goals. They asked about defense. They asked about the lack of pressure when Real Madrid lose the ball. And Mbappé, with a confident smile, replied: 'People focus on what I don't do rather than the qualities I bring.' I have followed Mbappé since his early days at Monaco, through every turning point at PSG, and now at Real Madrid. At 27, he is at his peak. Last season, 25 goals in La Liga earned him the Pichichi trophy. This season, five goals in five games shows remarkable consistency. But the story isn't just numbers. It's the contrast between an elite striker and an invisible expectation of 'sacrifice' in defense. At Real Madrid, where pressure on stars is always at its maximum, Mbappé faces a paradox: the more he scores, the more people notice what he doesn't do. Let's look at the data. 25 goals in 31 games last season, 0.81 per game. Five in five this season, 1.0 per game. Compared to Haaland (0.92 per game in the Premier League last season) or Lewandowski (0.71 in La Liga), Mbappé is in the leading group. But when I search for defensive numbers – tackles, pressures, interceptions – I find none in the original article. That's a deliberate information gap. Is the criticism of Mbappé's defense actually data-driven, or just a media narrative blown out of proportion? I have seen the same with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid: a striker excused from defensive duties due to his extraordinary goal-scoring. Carlo Ancelotti, who coached Ronaldo, might be applying the same logic to Mbappé. When you possess a goal machine like that, you build the team to shield him, not to force him to run back. I recall an interview with a former Real Madrid player who said: 'At the Bernabéu, you can be lazy in defense if you score 40 goals a season.' Mbappé is on track for that. But the difference lies in the era. In the age of data and total football, every shortcoming is magnified. A winger who doesn't press opponents can be criticized even after scoring a brace. This is where the contrarian angle emerges: Could it be that Mbappé's lack of defending is part of the tactic, not a weakness? If Real Madrid want to maximize his counter-attacking ability, keeping him high up the pitch makes sense. The midfield of Bellingham, Valverde, and Tchouaméni can compensate for the defensive workload. But it raises a question: Can Real Madrid maintain balance with a pure attacker when facing high-pressing teams like Manchester City or Bayern Munich? Mbappé, in the press conference, asserted that criticism does not affect him. 'I accept constructive criticism, but unreasonable comments won't shake me.' That statement shows a solid mentality, a necessary trait to survive at Real Madrid. But signals from the dressing room are absent. Do teammates truly accept this division of labor? From my experience covering big clubs, discontent often starts from small details: a lost ball left unsupported, a run back unanswered. Without specific defensive data, we can only speculate. But I bet that Ancelotti, with his vast experience, has a clear plan for Mbappé: attack, and leave the rest to us. So where does this story go? If Real Madrid keep winning and Mbappé maintains his scoring rate, the criticism will fade. But if the team falters in big games, the fire will reignite. That's the nature of elite football: success masks all flaws, failure exposes every crack. For Mbappé, the question isn't whether he can score, but whether the world can accept a superstar who shines only on his own terms. The press room doesn't have my name on a seat, but I still ask: When will we stop comparing Mbappé to a perfect template and start appreciating what he truly delivers? Goals, after all, still decide matches.