Xabi Alonso announces why he left Mbappé on the bench against Borussia Dortmund

Although Kylian Mbappé is already part of all group dynamics, participating in the training sessions held in Palm Beach Gardens, Xabi Alonso decided to leave him on the bench. His involvement in the match came from the bench, a fact that drew attention once again.

His place on the bench made a lot of sense for the round of 16 match: the merengue '9' was just recovering from acute gastroenteritis that even led him to be admitted to a hospital. However, this was not the case for the clash against Borussia Dortmund, one round later, which ultimately happened as well. Gonzalo García once again had more minutes than his competitor for the center forward position.

The young academy player's performance makes Xabi Alonso and his coaching staff's decision-making even more complicated. Not for the current Club World Cup, but for next season: the list of forwards is currently at serious risk of overbooking. There aren't enough positions for so many players, a dilemma that for now they seem to be avoiding.

Xabi Alonso had to clarify Kylian Mbappé's absence from his starting line-up against Borussia Dortmund. Many expected the Bondy striker to be in the starting eleven in the quarterfinals due to his participation in the clash against Juventus of Turin. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is a process with very clear stages

The game plans prepared for that clash at MetLife Stadium didn't include Kylian Mbappé as a starter because the French striker wouldn't be ready for it. According to the Madrid coach's words at the press conference, "Mbappé is doing better, but he's still not at 100%".

That means the French striker's recovery is progressing significantly, within the margins expected by the Madrid staff, but he's still far from securing a starting spot. Not only because of the excellent performance shown by Gonzalo García in the center forward position, with four goals in five matches (5 matches).

The coaching staff led by Xabi Alonso doesn't want to take risks in Kylian Mbappé's recovery process. The Madrid '9' is one of the best assets the Basque coach has at his disposal... so he prefers to wait until he's fully recovered before sending him, not fully prepared, into a major football and physical challenge.

Especially with a view to the semifinal against PSG. The desired starting spot for Kylian Mbappé against the rouge-et-bleu squad will depend exclusively on the feelings and the progress he shows during the training sessions remaining before next Wednesday's match.