It s him again! Barcelona s loaned goalkeeper Pena was the star of the game, and Mbappe was saved many times alone.

In the football world, some encounters are reunions after a long separation, while other encounters are a tease of fate.

For Kylian Mbappe, the name Inaki Pena is gradually becoming a lingering psychological shadow. On the night of Real Madrid's difficult 2-2 away draw with Elche, the goalkeeper, who was on loan from Barcelona, ​​used a pair of gloved hands to strangle the French superstar's throat. This was not just a performance about saves, but more like a precise hunt for Mbappe.

The foreshadowing of the nightmare continuation of

's story has actually been laid long ago.

People may still remember Mbappe’s first El Clasico wearing a Real Madrid jersey, which was his darkest memory since joining. On the Bernabeu turf, he was tortured completely by Barcelona's offside tactics. He was offside 8 times and missed 3 single shots. In the end, he had no choice but to suffer a 0-4 defeat. The feeling of powerlessness that night didn't seem to dissipate with time, but came back again this night.

This time, standing opposite him is no longer the entire Barcelona defense line, but Barcelona's loaned goalkeeper Pena. On a night when everything seemed to be paving the way for Mbappe to break out, Pena coldly closed all doors and became the real nemesis of the French.

Frustrated three times

The progress of the game was suffocating. From the moment Real Madrid fell behind, Mbappe began a crazy counterattack.

He got three golden opportunities to face Pena directly. Traditionally, this usually meant goals and celebrations. But this time, the plot is reversed. Facing the impact of the world's number one striker, the Spanish goalkeeper showed a terrifying calmness.

For the first time, he quickly struck out to block the shooting angle, leaving Mbappe unable to take a shot; the subsequent two times were even more of a stroke of genius. He used his extremely quick reaction to get off the ground and his stretched arms to resolve the inevitable goal at the goal line. Pena's self-confidence that remained unchanged despite the collapse of the mountain made all Mbappé's personal efforts come to nothing. Watching the ball being turned away again and again, the Frenchman's eyes were full of disbelief.

Goal scoring drought

The price of this draw is the further decline of Mbappe's data.

In the first half, he actually had a chance to change the score. One was due to hesitation when handling the ball, which led to a mistake, and the other was a beautiful shot that was saved by Pena again. Counting the previous loss to Liverpool at Anfield, this is already the third consecutive game in which Mbappe has failed to score a goal in a league-level contest.

Since his arrival at the Bernabeu, such a long scoring drought has been extremely rare. That all-powerful offensive machine seemed to be suddenly rusty.

Mortal Moment

For Real Madrid, which is about to enter a critical stage of the season, the decline in the status of the number one star has undoubtedly sounded the alarm.

For Mbappe himself, this may be a mortal moment that must be experienced in his career. Pena told him through actions that night that in the world of football, even if you are extremely talented and worth hundreds of millions, you will still encounter a powerful opponent that makes you helpless. When Barcelona's loaned goalkeepers become obstacles, what Mbappe needs to defeat may not only be his opponents, but also his own inner demons.