Inside Spain: Real Madrid crisis again, the Kylian Mbappe saviour and Alphonso Davies twist

Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

Everything had started to look a lot brighter for Real Madrid again after Barcelona dropped points twice, drawing them within a point in La Liga should they win their game in hand. Defeat to Liverpool may well see Los Blancos without hope of making the top eight, and Kylian Mbappe’s form have swung us full circle towards crisis mode again.

Mbappe has scored just twice in nine games, and while the last few months have been dominated by the narrative that he’s struggling because he is out of position, he hasn’t looked much better on the left than he did through the middle. Los Blancos say their biggest concern is not Mbappe, nor Carlo Ancelotti’s management, but rather their injury record, with renowned fitness coach Antonio Pintus losing friends faster than anyone else at the club. It has not stopped them reaching out to Zinedine Zidane for help with their Mbappe problem.

After reportedly meeting with Liverpool to discuss Trent Alexander-Arnold on Wednesday, and that is the one thing that is going well. The other full-back pursuit for Alphonso Davies is apparently causing frustration, as Manchester United hang around. The Canadian was also caught out drink driving on Thursday.

??Jamie Carragher on Trent Alexande-Arnold staying at Liverpool

“I think the reaction to him will be different to Salah. I think he will get a lot more criticism because he’s a local player. I think he will be worried about that, if he goes for free, let’s say, to Real Madrid.” pic.twitter.com/biUFLSXZnS

— Football España (@footballespana_) November 29, 2024

Barcelona celebrated their 125th anniversary on Thursday – without Lionel Messi – and were back to winning ways against Brest, as Robert Lewandowski became the third player to reach 100 goals following his brace. Their issues centre around Frenkie de Jong: the Dutchman is not signing a new contract any time soon, not playing well, and not appreciated by the fans, some of whom whistled him on Tuesday night.

Elsewhere Real Sociedad went down to Athletic Club for a fourth derby in a row in Bilbao last weekend, prompting manager Imanol Alguacil to criticise his players and captain Mikel Oyarzabal to bite back, saying maybe their plan was not right. La Real are usually a model of harmony, but fans of Martin Zubimendi rumours will be attentive.

James Rodriguez made a glorious return to La Liga with Rayo Vallecano this summer, signing a one-year deal in part paid for by Colombian sponsors. After a grand total of 136 minutes, he looks set to leave the club though in January, which probably has a lot of lawyers reviewing contracts. Finally, after multiple weeks of speculation about Diego Simeone’s job at Atletico Madrid, President Enrique Cerezo finally backed El Cholo. It helps when you turn your form around – it’s even sweeter when it’s your son, Giuliano Simeone, playing a starring role in that reverse.