Kylian Mbappé’s recent performances have observers talking. The performance of the PSG striker against AC Milan on Tuesday evening did not reassure either.
In football, there are statistics and there is what we see on the pitch. Regarding Kylian Mbappé, these two aspects do not really seem to correspond since the start of the season. In a new playing system implemented by Luis Enrique, the striker continues to score but at the same time he seems to be looking for his best position. Tuesday evening against AC Milan in a Champions League group match (2-1 defeat), the striker once again had an attitude that some described as “renunciation”.
Almost a disappearance after trying to score in vain. In any case, this was the opinion of several observers after the meeting lost by the Parisians. On the set of the channel The Team, former PSG, Jérôme Alonzo, delivered his impression. “ When we use the word ‘renunciation’, it is not a bad word. At one time, I found that this player never gave up, even when the matches were very complicated. It was one of his strong points. He used to disappear, but not all the time before. You felt like he could take (his team) on his shoulders, even if only for ten minutes, and make you turn the match around.“
“He can’t find his place”
A point of view not shared by the journalist Giovanni Castaldi who was on hand to attend the match and who gave another explanation for the disappearance of Kylian Mbappé. “ He cannot weigh on this team. More than a story of renunciation or attitude, I find that since Newcastle we see him a little more smiling, he is involved and he talks a lot with his partners on the pitch. I don’t think he gave up. Above all, I find that he cannot find his place in what Luis Enrique is putting in place.“
And the journalist draws attention to what the Spanish coach asks of his player, compared to the role that Mbappé had during the Christophe Galtier era and before. “ We went from an extreme where Mbappé was the savior, the compass of PSG, where he scored incredible goals, all alone, with individual actions, where PSG was dependent on Mbappé. And (NOW), he sometimes disappears from meetings for sixty, seventy minutes, and that does not bother PSG. I find that he does not fit into this team and what Luis Enrique wants to put in place. That’s what’s a little worrying.“
