Real Madrid beat Alavés 2-1 at the Bernabéu on Tuesday evening, but Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior were met with a hostile reception from their own supporters and heard near-constant jeers even after both found the net.
The reaction was tied to Madrid’s recent Champions League exit, after Bayern Munich knocked them out in the quarterfinals, and it added another layer of strain to a season that already looks headed for the trophyless ending many around the club fear.
Mbappé and Vinicius have been under fire before for their lackadaisical defensive work and for showing little interest in pressing or tracking back, and the problem has not gone away. The two forwards have been given two years to figure it out, but fans have now had that same stretch to judge whether they can build chemistry up top.
They still step on each other’s toes and look relatively clueless when asked to link up against a low block, which is part of why the crowd’s patience has worn so thin. The bigger issue is that the club still has not seen the partnership deliver a major honor in the period under review, and Tuesday’s boos made clear that supporters are no longer willing to wait quietly for the promise to become something more.
