With a frontline consisting of Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe, goals should not be difficult to find.

And individually, they were not last season. Mbappe scored 42 times in all competitions, while Vinicius contributed 22.

The bigger issue has been how the pieces fit together.

In 2024-25, Mbappe led the line with Vinicius operating from the left, but both frequently drifted towards the same areas. Last season, the attack became even more fluid, with Jude Bellingham dropping deeper to help balance the side, but that reduced his influence closer to goal and did not fully solve the spacing problems ahead of him.

That presents Jose Mourinho with one of his biggest tactical puzzles.

Mbappe, who arrives back from the World Cup having scored 10 goals for France, is at his most dangerous attacking the space behind a defensive line.

Vinicius, meanwhile, remains most effective starting from the left, where he can isolate defenders and attack one against one.

Creating clearer separation between the pair could also allow Bellingham to move closer to goal again.

The England midfielder scored eight goals and supplied five assists in 40 appearances for Madrid last season, a considerable drop from the 23 goals and 13 assists he produced during his first campaign at the Bernabeu.

At the World Cup, England head coach Thomas Tuchel used Bellingham predominantly as a number 10 behind Harry Kane. He responded with seven goals in eight appearances, having operated in an advanced role for 71% of his minutes, compared with only 28% in La Liga last season.

Mourinho has previously shown he can accommodate several elite attackers. His 2011-12 Madrid side, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain, scored a La Liga record 121 goals in 38 matches.

And this time, there is another option.

Madrid have made 19-year-old Yan Diomande a statement signing after his breakthrough at RB Leipzig. Only Lamine Yamal completed more dribbles across Europe’s top five leagues last season than the Ivory Coast winger’s 118.

He also offers something without the ball. Diomande won possession in the opposition final third 27 times, a total bettered by only nine players across those leagues.

The challenge for Mourinho is therefore unlikely to be finding enough attacking quality. It will be giving that quality enough structure to flourish.

Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola believes his side do not have enough wingers for the start of the season – but is confident they will find a solution before the end of the transfer window.

Liverpool had a £50m bid for Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh rejected earlier this week and have explored the possibility of a move for Paris St-Germain’s Ibrahim Mbaye.

PSG’s Bradley Barcola remains Liverpool‘s main target as they look to strengthen in the wide attacking areas before the transfer window concludes.

“As a manager, this is an easy one for me. I wanted the players for the first day on 13 July – everyone here and all the positions doubled with top-level players,” said Iraola when asked about the transfer window.

“But you understand how the competition works, that (the) market is open and you start the competition. We have to adapt as coaches to this situation.

“I hate these two weeks or these 10 days that we have because there is a lot of uncertainty – but not in Liverpool, everywhere. But we have to adapt.”

Since Iraola replaced Arne Slot as Liverpool head coach, the Reds have signed Victor Munoz for £34.5m and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona.

Jeremy Jacquet, the French centre-half, also arrived from Rennes in a deal worth £60m, but that was agreed back in January.

In terms of outgoings, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all left the club over the summer while Curtis Jones is in Italy to complete a £30m move to Inter Milan.

Iraola added: “You are asking me what we need – there are certain situations that for me are clear – especially now on the wing because we don’t have enough players specific to play in those positions.

“And then in other positions, I think we have to be open-minded in the market to see situations that honestly can improve our team.

“It’s not about signing because we need a player here. No, it’s about improving the squad. And we have very good players already here, so to improve our very good players, you need like a specific level of player, yes.”

In a separate interview with Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports, he said: “We will definitely sign some players. Some deals you have to wait until the end. But the end is the important picture, the one we will have on September 1. Because it is true that we are still quite thin.”

It’s not the first time that Iraola has said words to that effect, having echoed similar sentiments during Liverpool‘s pre-season tour in the USA when discussing Liverpool‘s defensive options, and internally the belief at Anfield is that it will be a busy end to the window for Liverpool

On Jones’ move to Inter Milan, Iraola said: “With Curtis, you know. I think it’s still not official but there is an ongoing situation. I understood with Curtis. I talked to him. I think in the first or second training session we talked.

“I value him a lot as a player. He loved this club – it was very clear since the beginning for me – but I understood that probably the outcome was going to be what it has been at the end.

“I’ve never hid it – for me Curtis is a very good player. A very, very good player, but I understood straight away when he talked to me about his situation. It was a situation that could happen and it looks like it is going to happen.”

In his first match since returning as England captain, Joe Root guides his England side to a huge win as they bowl Pakistan out for 135 on day three of the opening Test, securing victory by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley to take 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

READ MORE: New Root era begins with huge win over Pakistan

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