After Alaves red, can Mbappe be Real Madrid’s hero, not villain, against Arsenal? | OneFootball

If Sunday was meant to be a quiet tune-up for Wednesday’s Champions League blockbuster against Arsenal, Kylian Mbappe turned it into an avoidable mess.

His red card in Real Madrid’s scrappy 1-0 win away to Deportivo Alaves was ill-timed. With bigger challenges ahead, Mbappe’s loss of discipline should worry Carlo Ancelotti more than any tactical issue.

Eduardo Camavinga’s superb strike had put Madrid in front and in control, but Mbappe’s wild lunge on Antonio Blanco flipped the script.

Madrid were down to ten men before the break, suddenly fighting to keep a result they should have cruised to.

And if the tension in Vitoria rattled Mbappe, what will the pressure of this Champions League quarter-final second leg at the Bernabeu Stadium do to him?

“He’s not a violent guy,” said Davide Ancelotti, who managed from the dugout in Carlo’s absence.

“He’s apologised and is aware of his mistake. It’s a clear red card, and he’s suffered the consequences.”

Madrid will need far more than an apology on Wednesday night at the Bernabeu. They will need Mbappe to control moments as they strive to overturn a 3-0 deficit.

This game could have helped Madrid settle into a rhythm. Instead, it turned chaotic. Even after Alaves were reduced to 10 men, Los Blancos never quite took control.

Jude Bellingham had a close-range shot saved, Brahim Diaz came close, and Vinicius Jr kept probing, but the team lacked fluency.

Madrid are built for nights like Wednesday, and so is Mbappe – at least in theory. But that only holds true if he keeps his head.

The stakes will be higher, the spotlight brighter, and his teammates will expect him to deliver, not implode.Madrid got away with it in Vitoria. They cannot afford a repeat at the Bernabeu.