What’s wrong with Mbappé? That is right now the question that all Real Madrid fans are asking themselves, disappointed with the performance of the French star, very far from the benefits expected for what was considered the best footballer in the world, the signing that had aroused the most enthusiasm in Real. Madrid since it hired Cristiano Rolando, back in 2009.
The figures do not reflect the reality of the problem. In 1,500 minutes played spread over 18 games, Mbappé has scored nine goals and given two assists. However, the player right now seems like a shadow of himself, mentally blocked and becoming more of a problem than a solution for a team that is moving on the wire, punished to unsuspected limits by injuries.
The match against Liverpool
Two shots on goal and a missed penalty
Against Liverpool, in a mythical setting like Anfield and without Vinícius occupying the left wing, the Frenchman finally had the opportunity to show off and vindicate himself and it was quite the opposite. He played an incredible game. He touched the ball 43 times, made 24 passes and missed six (25%). He barely finished twice and only made good three of the six dribbles he attempted. He was unable to take advantage of balls into space and did not carry out clean drives. He was surpassed time and again by a 21-year-old kid, Conor Bradley, with hardly any experience in the elite. He was a totally unknown Mbappé, a willful but clumsy forward.
And to make matters worse, Mbappé put the cherry on top of such a disaster by missing a penalty with a 1-0 deficit that would have put his team in the game with half an hour left. The mistake from the eleven meters sank his team morally.
In Madrid the slogan with Mbappé is a call for calm. Carlo Ancelotti said it in the Anfield press room after the defeat: “The only medicine with Mbappé is to be patient. It’s a difficult time for him. Today, above all, because of the missed penalty. Everyone has to support him and he will soon move forward because forwards usually go through streaks like that.” The coach gave one of the keys: “He lacks a little confidence. Keep fighting and fighting. Things are not working out for him, we have to be patient,” he repeated.
The club’s position
A call to calm
At the white club they are very aware that this lack of confidence is closely related to the personal situation of the player, who receives criticism from all sides, the ones that hurt him the most from France. Daniel Riolo, a French journalist close to the forward’s circle, spoke very clearly about the issue on RMC Sport: “He breathes discomfort. It’s sad but he’s no longer a soccer player. He no longer does anything, he no longer achieves anything. “He can’t even run.”
In France they have put the cross on Mbappé since the player was deleted from Didier Deschamps’ penultimate list alleging physical discomfort that he did not have (in the femoral biceps of his left leg) because he played a couple of days later with his club. The coach no longer called him for the last call-up and there is speculation in France that he will no longer return to the team of which he was the captain.
The investigation in Sweden for rape
“Reasonable suspect”
To make matters worse, while the Blues were playing, Kylian Mbappé went with some friends for a couple of days on vacation to Stockholm and the Swedish prosecutor’s office implicated him in a rape case as a “reasonable suspect”, the lowest level provided for in the Swedish Penal Code. . Mbappé and his entourage denied the news of an investigation that is still ongoing.
Voices from Madrid fans as important as former players such as Jorge Valdano or Pedrag Mijatovic point out that Mbappé is the least of this Madrid’s problems and focus on the poor physical condition and poor design of the squad as the main causes of the poor performance. of the team. Despite all this, Ancelotti does not seem to be very aware of the state of things. He minimized the defeat at Anfield with some words that no one understood at the club, neither fans nor leaders: “We have to continue like this and this is the way. We have returned to being competitive and sacrificing.” All this after being overwhelmed by Liverpool.
#Mbappé
