Kylian Mbappé will return to Espanyol’s stadium this Saturday as Real Madrid begin their La Liga campaign. It is a ground where the French superstar has yet to find the back of the net.
The RCDE Stadium is one of only six La Liga venues where Mbappé has still not scored. He has played there once before, during his first season in Spain, when Real Madrid suffered a 1-0 defeat after Carlos Romero scored a late winner.
That match was also remembered for a major refereeing controversy involving Mbappé and Romero. Around the hour mark, the Espanyol defender made a very heavy challenge on the French forward as he tried to stop him during a dangerous run.
Referee Muñiz Ruiz showed Romero only a yellow card, while VAR did not intervene despite the severity of the tackle.
“I knew it was impossible to stop him once he was running, so I tried to slow him down however I could,” Romero explained after the game. “It was a bit of an ugly challenge and I apologised to him. Nothing more happened and it stayed there.”
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid’s coach at the time, strongly disagreed with the decision.
“That foul was inexplicable, both because of the referee’s decision and VAR’s decision, because everyone saw what happened,” Ancelotti said. “I think the most important thing is to protect the player. It was an obvious foul, a very ugly challenge and there was clearly a risk involved.”
Since then, Mbappé has continued to pile up goals in Spanish football. The Frenchman finished as La Liga’s leading scorer in each of his first two seasons in Spain, scoring 31 goals in his debut campaign before adding another 25 the following season.
Now he has the chance to remove one of the few remaining gaps from his impressive goalscoring record.
Las Palmas, Elche, Rayo, Mallorca and Betis
Besides Espanyol’s stadium, five other La Liga grounds have so far resisted Mbappé.
He has never scored away against Las Palmas, Elche or Rayo Vallecano, although he has played only once at each of those stadiums. The situation is slightly different at Mallorca and Real Betis, where Mbappé has already made two appearances without scoring.
However, some Spanish grounds have become particularly productive for the Real Madrid forward.
One of his favourites is Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica. Mbappé has played there twice and scored four goals, producing a brace in each appearance.
Kylian Mbappé va débuter sa TROISIÈME SAISON au Real Madrid. ✅🔥 pic.twitter.com/kpDedsk0VH
— RMadrid actu 🇫🇷 (@RMadrid_actu) August 22, 2026
Barcelona has also provided memorable moments for the French captain. Mbappé has scored three La Liga goals away against Barcelona, all of them at Montjuïc. Unfortunately for Real Madrid, those goals were not enough to secure victory, as Los Blancos suffered a dramatic 4-3 defeat during his only league visit there.
This Saturday, Mbappé will therefore have his first opportunity of the season to shorten the list of six La Liga stadiums where he has never scored.
Kick-off against Espanyol is scheduled for 9:30 p.m., and the RCDE Stadium will be the first challenge standing between Mbappé and another addition to his remarkable La Liga scoring record.
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