Kumbullah: “Mbappé and Vinícius are the toughest players I’ve played against in my entire career”

At 24 years of age, Marash Kumbulla has already gone up against some of the best forwards of his generation. Since making his Serie A debut in 2019, Kumbulla has grappled with the likes of Paulo Dybala, Rafael Leão, Ciro Immobile, Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, and Zlatan Ibrahimović and held his own while playing for Hellas Verona, Roma and Sassuolo. However, nothing could have prepared him for his trip to the Santiago Bernabéu on September 21, 2024, when he paid a visit to Real Madrid.

Kumbulla left Italy for the first time in his career and joined newly promoted Espanyol on a season-long loan. Rather than gradually being phased into the team, Espanyol manager Manolo González elected to throw him into the deep end and start him in his first available match – a 1-0 loss to Espanyol. The Albanian defender retained his place in the starting line up over the following weeks, keeping Julián Álvarez, Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sørloth quiet in a 0-0 draw at Atlético Madrid, before playing the full 90 in a 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano and a 3-2 win vs. Deportivo Alavés. However, the following match would see his Espanyol side concede four goals to Real Madrid – as many as he had let in during his first four matches combined.

Espanyol initially proved to be a stubborn opponent for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, and even broke the deadlock after halftime as Jofre Carreras squeezed in a cross between Thibaut Courtois’ legs for an own goal.

However, Real Madrid would quickly equalize via Dani Carvajal, and with a quarter-hour remaining, the reigning Spanish and European champions took the lead: Vinícius Júnior trotted down the left flank before teeing up a trivela pass to Rodrygo, who made no mistake from close range. Shortly after, Real Madrid doubled their lead as Kylian Mbappé slid a perfectly timed through ball to Vinícius, who tucked home the third goal with aplomb. The cherry on top came in the 90th minute, with Mbappé stepping up to the penalty spot and coolly firing in a spot-kick to seal the 4-1 comeback victory.

“Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior are the toughest players I’ve played against in my entire career,” Kumbulla said in an interview with RG. “When you play against them in real life, you understand why they are so good – they’re at another level. It was incredible playing at the Santiago Bernabéu, it’s the best stadium I’ve played at.”

After a shaky start to the 2024/25 campaign, Real Madrid are gradually getting back to top form, winning six of their last seven matches and topping the table.

A lot of that is thanks to two of their superstars, Vinicius and Mbappe.

Rather than wallow in the disappointment of missing out on the 2024 Ballon d’Or award to Manchester City’s Rodri, Vinícius has continued to prove why he is one of the finest footballers on the planet. The Brazilian forward grabbed a goal and an assist at Atalanta on December 10 before adding a goal and an assist in Real’s 3-0 win vs. Pachuca in the Intercontinental Cup. As for Mbappé, he’s found the back of the net in four of his last five matches.

Carlo Ancelotti will be counting on both attackers as he looks to continue Real’s impressive run of form with a win at Club Deportiva Minera in the Copa del Rey on Monday.