Should Real Madrid be worried about Kylian Mbappe? Are Manchester City even better in 2024/25? And what has Thiago Motta already brought to the table for disappointments Juventus?
Here are three takeaways from around the Champions League after the first Matchday of the 2024/25 LaLiga, Premier League, and Serie A seasons.
The Thiago Motta touch
Juventus finished third in Serie A last season, but that was honestly far from an accomplishment because the Bianconeri were 20 points behind bitter rivals Inter Milan in a title race that they were never truly in.
Thus, Juve found an excuse to can Max Allegri and were able to replace him with the “It” coach in Italian football, Thiago Motta, who was agonizingly close to leading Bologna to a historic Champions League qualification.
Motta provided world football with two of the biggest breakout stars of the 2023/24 season, Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee, both of whom moved to Premier League heavyweights this summer.
Everyone is curious to see how Motta’s engaging style will help young players at Juventus develop, and they are also curious to see how his tactics change the way Juve play after years of the frustratingly ultra-defensive approach from Allegri.
Motta gave Juventini exactly what they were hoping on Matchday 1 with a 3-0 win over Como, and while you could argue that is nothing less than expected against a newly-promoted Serie A side, how many times did we see Juventus barely plod to a win or even outright blow points to a lower table side last season?
3-0 is a big departure from the 1-0 slogfests under Allegri, but what was more impressive was watching how young stars like Kenan Yildiz and Andrea Cambiaso spearheaded the effort for the Old Lady.
Cambiaso and Yildiz were bright spots for Juve last season, but it looks like Thiago Motta is already unearthing a young gem of his own in Turin in 20-year-old left winger Samuel Mbangula, who scored and assisted.
It’s just one game, but that kind of display from a 20-year-old player is worth praising highly, even if it comes with the caveat that Como were not playing their new big stars at center back Alberto Dossena and Raphael Varane.
Thiago Motta made the right statement to concerned Juventus fans with his team’s showing against Como to start the new Serie A campaign, and it is hard for him not to be an upgrade on what Allegri gave Juve last season, especially offensively.
Man City more dangerous
Manchester City seem to get better with each successive summer, and while the Citizens were actually less busy in the summer 2024 transfer window than in 2023, a combination of 2023 signings improving and new 2024 face Savio make Man City look like an even more formidable force.
So many have been waiting for City’s downfall with Arsenal looking like a bigger threat in the English top flight, but despite two straight close calls against protege Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola remains the king.
On Sunday, Manchester City disposed of Chelsea 2-0 in a battle between heavyweights, with former Chelsea man Mateo Kovacic playing a starring role despite coming off a somewhat disappointing first season at the Etihad.
Additionally, Jeremy Doku built off a promising rookie season in Manchester, completing a team-high six dribbles with four fouls drawn in another dynamic display showcasing his world-class dribbling ability and the different dynamic he offers to this club.
On the opposite side, Savio got a start in Man City’s opener, and the fact that Guardiola went with both dynamic wingers is a sign of things to come for the Citizens and a renewed approach towards unbalancing the opposition and an aura of excitement at the Etihad.
Savio was also excellent, creating three chances and completing three dribbles of his own, providing Man City fans with a glimpse of the same chance-creating quality and explosiveness off the dribble that made him one of the best players in LaLiga for brief title contenders Girona last season.
With Savio and Doku on the wings and Kovacic potentially back to his best for a full season, it’s hard not to think that Manchester City, even without Julian Alvarez, could be more dangerous to defenses in 2024/25.
The problem with Kylian Mbappe
Real Madrid dropped valuable points to start the season against Mallorca, a side they have traditionally struggled with on the road (even in seasons in which they won LaLiga, such as 2019/20) but are still expected to largely dominate as the reigning champions of Spain and Europe.
No team in world football has as much hype right now as Real Madrid for several reasons. They won the Champions League and LaLiga last season, they have the Ballon d’Or favorites in Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, they have two of the world’s best prospects in Arda Guler and now Endrick, and they finally signed Kylian Mbappe this summer.
Out of the attacking trident of Rodrygo Goes, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior, it was actually Rodrygo – the one who faces the most speculation regarding his long-term future at the Santiago Bernabeu – who was by far the best player and the lone goal-scorer for Los Blancos.
Mbappe, on the other hand, was underwhelming in his Real Madrid debut despite obtaining more chances than his teammates. And while one subpar game from the world’s most talented footballer shouldn’t ring alarm bells, the issues with Mbappe are similar to what PSG fans noticed over the years.
When Mbappe isn’t scoring or the focal point of the attack, he isn’t as helpful to a team. Mbappe has struggled with co-existing alongside other attacking superstars, unless if they are willing to make serious accommodations for him and dampen their own shine to become players, as Antoine Griezmann and Neymar did so splendidly for him.
Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, and Bellingham are all capable of creating chances, but they are not playmakers like Neymar or Griezmann. Mbappe is going to have to be more willing to work for his teammates off the ball, following in the lead of the established Real Madrid trio.
There’s a quiet worry among some that Mbappe, rather than adding his individual skill, can detract by demanding too much focus without “giving” to the other players.
It’s early, but this was always going to be the key adjustment for Mbappe to make at the Bernabeu – going from the pampered face of the PSG project to one of many stars on a Real Madrid side that has already won two Champions League titles without him.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.