Mbappe under scrutiny as rocky Real Madrid brace for Girona clash
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A flimsy Real were left licking their wounds after a 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao
MADRID (Reuters) - With an unrecognisable Kylian Mbappe firmly under the spotlight after missing his second penalty in a week, Real Madrid will travel to Girona on Saturday to face last year's surprise package in LaLiga.
A flimsy Real were left licking their wounds after a 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, their fourth defeat in the last seven games in all competitions.
Real, who are missing a host of players through injury including talisman Vinicius Jr, missed a golden opportunity to close the gap on leaders Barcelona, whom they trail by four points with a game in hand.
Their absentee list also includes Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, the last two out for the season with ACL tears, but perhaps Real's biggest concern has been the form of Mbappe.
Real have been far from the dominant side that won the Champions League and LaLiga double last season and fans and pundits have questioned why it is taking so long for Mbappe to become the difference maker he was expected to be when he signed for the Spanish giants in the summer.
The France captain and World Cup winner arrived from Paris St Germain with sky-high expectations to boost an already stellar squad, but so far he has been a shadow of his old self, looking tentative and out of sync with the rest of the team.
While he has scored 10 goals in all competitions, seven from open play, his all-round game has often been poor and on Wednesday at Bilbao he did not factor again.
His penalty miss was a tame effort that made it easy for goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala to palm away, almost a carbon copy of the spot-kick he missed the previous week in Real's Champions League loss at Liverpool.
Ancelotti admitted after the game that Mbappe was not in his best form and the France captain vowed to bounce back.
"Bad result. A big mistake in a match where every detail counts. I take full responsibility for it. A difficult moment but it's the best time to change this situation and show who I am," Mbappe posted on Instagram.
After a stuttering start to the season, Girona have been much improved. They are on a four-game unbeaten run in the league and are eighth in the LaLiga standings on 22 points.
Yet their growing optimism suffered a blow on Wednesday as they were shocked in a 4-3 penalty-shootout defeat in the Copa del Rey by 10-man fourth-division side Logrones, who knocked them out in the second round.
Logrones had an unlikely hero in Pol Arnau, a 19-year-old left back who had to play as stand-in goalkeeper and saved a spot-kick from Girona striker Abel Ruiz to seal the home side's stunning victory.
League leaders Barcelona travel to Seville to play Real Betis on Saturday with a feeling of relief after thrashing Mallorca 5-1 on Tuesday to return to winning ways in LaLiga for the first time in a month.
Third-placed Atletico Madrid, on a seven-game winning streak in all competitions, will host struggling Sevilla on Sunday.
