Kylian Mbappé got straight to the point after the draw with Girona and made it clear that Real Madrid can’t keep going at this pace. The team has gone three rounds without a win in La Liga, watched Barcelona jump into first place and is now dealing with a discomfort that’s getting harder to hide. The forward’s message on social media, “We need to change this dynamic and show who we are as a team”, opened a conversation the locker room can’t avoid anymore. Madrid let the control it had over the league slip away and is now trying to catch up.
The recent numbers help explain the weight of his words. Real drew with Rayo Vallecano, drew with Elche and repeated the same pattern against Girona. In none of those matches did the team show consistency, and the feeling was always the same, a side producing less than it should and letting the opponent grow into the game. Mbappé scored against Girona, but the collective performance didn’t follow. This gap between individual impact and team output is what fueled the frustration he took to social media.
Barcelona rises while Real falls apart
The situation gets even more uncomfortable when you look at the other side of the table. Barcelona won its last three matches, picked up all nine possible points and took the lead with 34, one more than Real Madrid. The shift happened fast but it’s meaningful, especially because just over a month ago Madrid had beaten Barcelona 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu. At that moment, Real looked more solid, more confident and more prepared to control the league’s rhythm. That advantage disappeared in a matter of weeks.
Real Madrid didn’t drop off because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of intensity. The team lost speed in its actions, became predictable and couldn’t turn territorial control into emotional dominance. Meanwhile, Barcelona took advantage of the slip and grabbed the protagonism its rival left on the table.
Mbappé sees what’s at stake and tries to take charge
Mbappé’s public stance, instead of sounding like a criticism of the group, comes across as an effort to pull the locker room back to reality. The league is long, as he wrote, but every season has stretches that matter more than others. This is one of them. Letting Barcelona build momentum now could cost Madrid later.
Real Madrid isn’t in crisis, but it’s clearly disconnected from what it needs to deliver to fight for the title. By demanding a reaction, Mbappé plays the role expected from a technical leader. Now it remains to be seen whether his message hits the right spot or if the team will stay stuck in the slow gear that already handed the lead back to the rival. The season isn’t over, but the warning light is no longer yellow, it’s edging toward orange.