6 hours ago
4
With a frontline consisting of Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe, goals should not be difficult to find.
And individually, they were not last season. Mbappe scored 42 times in all competitions, while Vinicius contributed 22.
The bigger issue has been how the pieces fit together.
In 2024-25, Mbappe led the line with Vinicius operating from the left, but both frequently drifted towards the same areas. Last season, the attack became even more fluid, with Jude Bellingham dropping deeper to help balance the side, but that reduced his influence closer to goal and did not fully solve the spacing problems ahead of him.
That presents Jose Mourinho with one of his biggest tactical puzzles.
Mbappe, who arrives back from the World Cup having scored 10 goals for France, is at his most dangerous attacking the space behind a defensive line.
Vinicius, meanwhile, remains most effective starting from the left, where he can isolate defenders and attack one against one.
Creating clearer separation between the pair could also allow Bellingham to move closer to goal again.
The England midfielder scored eight goals and supplied five assists in 40 appearances for Madrid last season, a considerable drop from the 23 goals and 13 assists he produced during his first campaign at the Bernabeu.
At the World Cup, England head coach Thomas Tuchel used Bellingham predominantly as a number 10 behind Harry Kane. He responded with seven goals in eight appearances, having operated in an advanced role for 71% of his minutes, compared with only 28% in La Liga last season.
Mourinho has previously shown he can accommodate several elite attackers. His 2011-12 Madrid side, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain, scored a La Liga record 121 goals in 38 matches.
And this time, there is another option.
Madrid have made 19-year-old Yan Diomande a statement signing after his breakthrough at RB Leipzig. Only Lamine Yamal completed more dribbles across Europe's top five leagues last season than the Ivory Coast winger's 118.
He also offers something without the ball. Diomande won possession in the opposition final third 27 times, a total bettered by only nine players across those leagues.
The challenge for Mourinho is therefore unlikely to be finding enough attacking quality. It will be giving that quality enough structure to flourish.
