Kylian Mbappé Left Mendizorroza Very Upset after being sent off by referee De Soto Grado in the 38th minute of the Alavés-Real Madrid match. He hadn't seen a red card since 2019.
Mbappé lost his head. He made a very hard tackle, lunging onto the shin of Antonio Blanco, at the time one of the most prized gems of Real Madrid's youth academy.
"Mbappé Is Not a Violent Boy"
Fortunately, the tackle didn't escalate, and Blanco was able to continue playing. Mbappé accepted the red card and went to the locker room without protesting.
The French star was distraught and at the end of the match, he apologized to his teammates and went to Alavés's locker room to check on Blanco and also offer his apologies.
The former Madrid player accepted them without issue: "It was a strong tackle, but he apologized, which is the most important thing. These are plays that can happen, they are part of soccer and stay on the field", he said on Carrusel Deportivo.
Davide Ancelotti, meanwhile, didn't want to justify Mbappé's action, but he did understand it.
"Kylian Mbappé is not a violent boy and he has apologized. I don't justify it, but I think the many fouls committed against him led him to act this way", said Ancelotti's assistant.
Handshake and Attempted Hug
Mbappé hadn't been sent off the field since 2019, when he was playing for PSG and saw the red card against Rennes. Last season, his last with PSG, he received 5 yellow cards, and in his first season as a Madrid player, he has already seen four.
Mbappé is not proud of what he did. He knows he left his teammates outnumbered in a match where they needed to conserve energy for Arsenal.
He also went to find Antonio Blanco to apologize for his action. Mbappé told him: "You know I didn't mean to hurt you. I just lost my cool and I'm sorry".
Antonio Blanco, a Madrid player through and through, accepted the apologies, they shook hands and attempted a hug.
Mbappé was relieved because Blanco was able to stay on the field and the incident amounted to nothing.