Mic'd up: Moreno talked Kylian Mbappe, El Clasico and why the Copa del Rey final could be a Barcelona beatdown
Alejandro Moreno knows a thing or two about scoring goals – he won an MLS Golden Boot, after all. He also knows a thing or two about analyzing those who do it – he has been a fixture of the soccer punditry world for more than 10 years.
It's an interesting mix for the ESPN FC's analyst, who spends most of his weekends – and plenty of days in between – breaking down European football in the United States. This season, La Liga, and the ever-dramatic soap opera of Real Madrid, is the focus. Los Blancos made waves by signing Kylian Mbappe on a bumper deal last summer. But it hasn't quite worked out. The French forward is bagging goals, but has he made Madrid markedly better? Moreno is skeptical.
"He's not making them better." he tells GOAL. "I can say that. And that goes beyond what our expectations may have been. Maybe those were unrealistic. But if you take the fact that this team won the league, won the Champions League without Kylian Mbappe, he comes in and the dynamic of the team changes, of course there's gonna be a lot of attention on Kylian Mbappe and his productivity."
It's a bit of a mess up front, the former MLS striker says. It is near-impossible to fit Vinicius Jr, Mbappe, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham into the same team. Carlo Ancelotti is the man used to figuring these kinds of things out, and Moreno is surprised that he hasn't been able to work his magic.
"But they are as vulnerable now as they were at the beginning of the season, and that's the part that's disappointing," he says. "It's hard to believe that Carlo Ancelotti himself hasn't been able to figure out what to do to give this team structure, balance and organization."
Poor timing, too, as Madrid look towards the Copa del Rey Final against Barcelona, which kicks off Saturday, at 4 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes, from Estadio Olympic de la Cartuja in Sevilla, Spain. These games usually exist on a knife's edge. For the first time in recent memory, Barca are clear favorites. Moreno, in fact, expects a Barca win.
"It's impossible to ignore what we have seen when Real Madrid and Barcelona have played this season," he says. "It has been so difficult for Real Madrid to defend Barcelona through the midfield and once they get out in transition. There are too many vulnerabilities for Real Madrid."
And he might just be right. Moreno talked all things El Clasico in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
Getty Images SportON REAL MADRID
GOAL: Has Carlo Ancelotti gotten it wrong this year? Is Madrid's regression his fault?
MORENO: Well, he's certainly part of it. Carlo Ancelotti has been an outstanding manager, not only with Real Madrid but also essentially just about everywhere he has been. And for the most part, when he has gotten a big job, he has been able to figure out the right combinations, the right answers in order to get his teams playing at a high level and winning the trophies that a club like Real Madrid expects to win. What has been surprising about this season is that we're so late into this season, and we still don't get a clear idea as to what Carlo Ancelotti wants to see from his team, and how he's able to find balance with Real Madrid.
At the beginning of the season when the team was lacking balance and being vulnerable defensively, or allowing goals, or weren't being as consistent as they should be, we were saying "Look, he's trying to find the pieces and figure out what the role of Mbappe is within this team, and how to shift everybody over to make sure the team has the shape that he wants." That's what we thought they would become, that he would find a shape, that he would find the answers, that the team would not be as vulnerable. But they are as vulnerable now as they were at the beginning of the season, and that's the part that's disappointing. It's hard to believe that Carlo Ancelotti himself hasn't been able to figure out what to do to give this team structure, balance and organization.
GOAL: That's strange for Real Madrid, right? We're used to maybe slow starts or early season slip ups, but you always think by February, March or even April, that they'll be this dominant force?
MORENO: Usually what we see from Real Madrid is, as the year turns, they get hot, and they get consistent. They are machine-like in their momentum towards the end of the season. So when it comes to the latter stages of the Champions League, latter stages of La Liga, they are close to their best. That's not what we are seeing this season. Specifically to Carlo Ancelotti, he has said over the last few games that 4-4-2 is the best formation for him and for this team. And for those of us who watch this league as closely as we do, we have been saying all along that "You need more numbers in midfield. You cannot play with Vinicius, Mbappe, Rodrygo and Bellingham all at the same time."
Somebody had to be sacrificed, and he's taken too long to make that decision. The obvious player who should be sacrificed is Rodrygo, not because he's done anything particularly wrong, but the reality is, Mbappe is not going to be sacrificed, Vini is not going to be sacrificed, Bellingham will be in the team. And if you want numbers in the midfield, someone has to be sacrificed from the front line. That has to be Rodrygo. Ancelotti hasn't done that consistently. I wonder if he will do that in Copa del Rey final, just because he's trying to get organization and structure behind the attacking talent you already have in place.
AdvertisementGettyON KYLIAN MBAPPE
GOAL: I wanted to talk about Mbappe. There is a lot of discourse that Mbappe has just made Madrid worse? Or is it way more complex than that?
Moreno: He's not making them better. I can say that. And that goes beyond what our expectations may have been. Maybe those were unrealistic. But if you take the fact that this team won the league, won the Champions League without Kylian Mbappe, he comes in and the dynamic of the team changes, of course there's gonna be a lot of attention on Kylian Mbappe and his productivity. While the number of goals he has scored this season for some people would be enough, I don't think it's enough in regards to scoring those goals in the big moments, in the big games, on the big stage. That hasn't been the case with Mbappe this year. Now, it would be inaccurate to say he has been terrible for Real Madrid. I don't think he has been terrible, and I think at times, once he got his legs under him, he started scoring goals, and she started showing signs of the player he could be for Real Madrid. But that hasn't been consistent.
And then you add that to the fact that there has been some poor behavior from Kylian Mbappe. The red card he got a couple weeks ago was horrendous, and it shows a side of a player that we don't want to see. We want Kylian Mbappe to be at his best all the time. It makes it more appealing to all of us, to all of us watching, and all of us analyzing. But he hasn't been able to find his role within this team consistently. It's almost as if he's playing the center forward position saying "I don't really want to play here, my position is out to the left." But out to the left is Vini Jr, so what happens with him? And on the other side is Rodrygo, who is saying "Well hold on a second, I like playing on the left hand side, too, but I guess I'll play on the right because that's what I've been told to do."
And now Bellingham, who last year was so successful supporting the attack from behind, now he is running into the presence of Kylian Mbappe in front of him, inside the 18-yard box. And so there is no space for the two of them. If you watch the movement of Kylian Mbappe in and around the 18-yard-box, it is not the natural movement of a striker. You rarely see Kylian Mbappe scoring tap ins for Real Madrid the way you see Robert Lewandowski score tap ins for Barcelona. And you'll say "Well that's just a tap in." You have to be there, recognize where the space is, and where the goal should be. Kylian Mbappe's goals at Real Madrid are around the 18-yard-box, but not the center forward sort of goal.
Getty Images SportON LAMINE YAMAL
GOAL: Lamine Yamal has been incredible. What can we take away from his performances this year? The Messi comparison seems so unfair because he's his own player, but how good do you think he can be?
MORENO: When I talk about Lamine Yamal, I talk about Lamine Yamal by himself – not in the context of Lionel Messi. What I see from Lamine Yamal is currently, in my estimation, the best player in the world – at 17 years old. He is performing consistently at a high level in key moments for Barcelona. He plays with a freedom and creativity and with dynamic movements. He is excellent in 1v1 situations, vision, pass delivery, the ability to see a pass. When you see him play, you think this guy has been around for 10 years – that's the maturity with which he plays. And the decisions he makes when he's on the field showcase that same maturity. And he's doing it as if he were doing it in the backyard with you and I. It's that sort of ease and freedom.
There is no burden to his game. There is no tension, there is no pressure. Lamine Yamal may have all of those expectations around him, but he doesn't seem to be feeling any of them. And the way we know that is because when he plays, he is playing with a smile, with confidence, with freedom. He is in a great place right now. The only thing that can slow this guy down is injuries, and certainly we hope that's not the case in the future, because he's got everything you can have as a player. In terms of what my expectations are of him as he continues to grow, evolve and mature? The one thing I would want to see is that he never loses the joy with which he plays the game.
AFPON ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI
GOAL: It seemed like Robert Lewandowski was maybe coming to an end last year. This year, things have changed, he's scoring goals again. Why has he been so good?
MORENO: Well it helps to have Lamine Yamal playing alongside you! It also helps to have Raphinha. What happens is those three complement each other very well. Raphinha is the one willing to run in behind, so that stretches the backline. And that then opens up the space underneath, and in and around the 18-yard box. You need to watch the little movements that Robert Lewandowski makes, the little diagonal runs to get himself free. So while people are paying attention – and rightfully so – and people are paying attention to the runs in behind of Raphinha, Lewandowski is floating.
The moment he sees the opportunity to make a little diagonal movement one way or the other, and he gets in the blind spot of a defender, and there's your tap in. They're going to miss him in the Copa del Rey final because of a hamstring injury. Ferran Torres brings a different type of skill set, more activiity in terms of the legs, being able to go and chase people down and press the ball a little bit better than Lewandowski does at this stage in his career – but doesn't quite bring the same sort of instinct in front of goal.