The spotlight shines fiercely on Kylian Mbappe as Real Madrid enter one of their most consequential Champions League nights of the season, hosting Manchester City at a tense Santiago Bernabeu. And yet, for all the noise surrounding the French superstar, Mbappe will not start the match — a decision that unsettles a squad already dealing with turbulence on and off the pitch.
For Madrid, a club navigating internal pressure, injury chaos, and Champions League stakes, this development is seismic. Manchester City arrives confident, organized, and dangerous, and the absence of their opponent’s most prolific forward changes the dynamics completely.
Los Blancos currently sit at a crossroads: a team battling form, facing an opponent of the Citizens’ caliber, and relying heavily on moments of individual brilliance to stay afloat. With Mbappe unavailable to start, the responsibility shifts to figures like Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, who now carry Real Madrid’s creative and goalscoring weight against Europe’s deadliest attacking machine.
Defining Champions League night under crisis
The fixture marks the 15th Champions League meeting between Real Madrid and Manchester City, making it the competition’s most frequent showdown of the modern era. But this one arrives shrouded in tension.
Real Madrid enters the match battered. The 2-0 collapse at home to Celta Vigo over the weekend — complete with missed chances, defensive implosions, and multiple red cards — exposed every fault line in Xabi Alonso’s fragile project. The team has won just two of its last seven matches, sits four points behind Barcelona in La Liga, and remains under intense scrutiny from media and club executives alike.
In contrast, Manchester City arrives with momentum. After three straight Premier League wins, Pep Guardiola’s side travels to Spain boosted by the relentless form of Erling Haaland, whose goals continue to bury opponents with terrifying efficiency. And yet, despite the difference in form, Madrid still holds the Bernabeu — a place where they have scored in 38 consecutive Champions League home games and historically summon nights of improbable survival. But usually, those miracles involve their brightest star at full strength. Tonight, that star is not starting.
Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid.
The reason behind Mbappe’s absence from the starting XI
Kylian Mbappe is not starting because he is not fit enough to do so, despite being included in the squad. The Frenchman suffered muscle discomfort in his left leg and a knee issue during the defeat to Celta Vigo, injuries serious enough to keep him from Tuesday’s full training session.
“Mbappe has been named in the matchday squad, but he is not fit to start,” reported journalist Jose Luis Sanchez, confirming Madrid’s worst fears. The club views the situation delicately: Mbappe has 25 goals in 21 matches, leads both La Liga and the Champions League in scoring, and remains indispensable to the team’s attacking identity. But overplaying him now risks aggravating the injury at a decisive stage of the season.
The 26-year-old star’s absence is only the tip of the iceberg. The Spanish side is without six defenders, including Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, and Dean Huijsen. Eduardo Camavinga is also out, leaving the squad thin and tactically stretched.
