Only Mbappe is safe: Carlo Ancelotti sends a stern message to Real Madrid players after Barcelona defeat

In their quest for a third trophy of the season, Real Madrid faced FC Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia. Despite taking an early lead, Los Blancos suffered a crushing 5-2 defeat to their archrivals. The result prompted head coach Carlo Ancelotti to deliver a scathing critique of his players—except for Kylian Mbappe.

The French superstar opened the scoring in the 5th minute, but Barcelona responded emphatically, finishing the first half with a commanding 4-1 lead. Despite a red card for goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, Barcelona maintained control, sealing the victory and claiming their first title of the season.

After the match, Ancelotti praised Mbappe’s individual performance but had harsh words for the rest of the squad. “I take nothing away from this match, except for the game Mbappe played. It was a very good performance from him, with good plays, and he scored the goal… As for the rest, we need to forget about it and move forward,” said Ancelotti in the post-match press conference.

Ancelotti provided a candid breakdown of the team’s shortcomings against Barcelona: “We defended poorly, and this hurt us during the match. They found goals easily, and we didn’t defend well either in high pressing or in a low block. At halftime, I told them that the first thing we needed to do was try to play soccer because, in the first half, we didn’t play soccer.”

The Italian tactician also pointed out how Madrid’s approach deviated from their initial strategy: “We were hitting long balls, but that wasn’t the plan—the plan was to play, and we didn’t do that. I told them that you can lose games, but not in the way we played in the first half.”

The defeat highlighted Real Madrid’s defensive fragility, as they have now conceded nine goals in their last two matches—four in the El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu and five in this Spanish Super Cup final. For Ancelotti, it marked his 18th El Clasico as manager, splitting his record evenly with nine wins and nine losses.

Mbappe’s finals scoring streak with Real Madrid

Despite the disappointing result, Kylian Mbappe continued his impressive form in finals for Real Madrid. The French forward, who has faced positional challenges alongside Vinicius Junior this season, has proven to be a decisive player in critical moments.

With his early goal against Barcelona, Mbappe became the first Real Madrid player since the 2013-14 season to score in his first three finals across all competitions. He previously found the net in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta and the Intercontinental Cup against Pachuca. This final marked the only loss of the three.

The last player to achieve this milestone was Gareth Bale. The Welshman scored the winner in the 2013-14 Copa del Rey final against Barcelona, added the crucial 2-1 goal in the UEFA Champions League final against Atletico Madrid (a match Madrid won 4-1), and netted again in the 2014 Club World Cup final against San Lorenzo.