Mbappé and Vinícius: an illustrious duo without chemistry

Will Mourinho solve this problem?

A new report has lifted the lid on the attacking relationship between Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe, confirming that the Brazilian and Frenchman are yet to strike the harmony expected of them despite two seasons together at the Spanish club.

Marca newspaper regard Vinicius and Mbappe as Real Madrid's biggest stars and the team's sharpest attacking weapons. Their partnership, though, has not translated into collective danger, for all the individual quality each man brings.

Real Madrid have played 125 matches since Vinicius and Mbappe first lined up together, on 14 August 2024 against Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup.

Both featured in 89 of those matches. Real Madrid scored 192 goals across them, yet only 19 came from direct collaboration between the pair, a rate of 9.8%.

Set that against Real Madrid's total output since Mbappe arrived, 269 goals, and the scale of the problem becomes clear.

The newspaper noted that the relationship leans firmly in Vinicius's favour when it comes to creating goals. It was the Brazilian who started most of the attacks that Mbappe finished.

Of the 15 direct contributions that began with Vinicius and ended with an Mbappe goal, three came from penalties the Brazilian winger won himself.

Last season alone, goals from their direct link-up dropped to nine, with seven of those contributions starting with Vinicius against just two for Mbappe.

Nothing improved at the start of the 2026-2027 campaign, according to Marca. Vinicius and Mbappe failed to combine for a single goal in Real Madrid's opening official match of the season.

Both fell short of expectations, none more so than Vinicius. The Brazilian struggled against the opposition's defensive shape and could not summon the dribbling and individual flair that define him at his best.

Marca reckon this partnership is one of the biggest jobs in Jose Mourinho's in-tray as Real Madrid's new head coach. His task is to fuse the individual gifts of Mbappe and Vinicius into a more potent collective threat.

Two seasons in, Mourinho must find the formula that makes the pair click the way Real Madrid want, rather than lean on the individual menace of each.