Zero shots on target (so zero goals), zero assists, zero key passes, zero recoveries, three duels won, all in 70 minutes… Looking closely at Kylian Mbappé’s catastrophic figures against Villarreal, one wonders if the Frenchman is not Didn’t play goalie Saturday night. We laugh, of course, although it would have been the best way for him to rest while accumulating playing time.
While waiting to explore this absurd avenue, the captain of the France team has just completed a 105-minute work week with Real Madrid (34 against Lille, 71 against Villarreal). Quite a little compared to ordinary mortals, but already too much for a man who put himself on the sidelines of the next Blues gathering under the pretext of a need for rest (which no one can doubt given his latest performances).
Gray areas
Lots of gray areas around the Mbappé mystery: what’s the point of coming back so quickly from a femoral biceps injury supposed to keep him off the field for three weeks, what’s more for banal matches seen under the merengue prism? Not as if Vinicius and Valverde particularly needed him to sink the yellow submarine… A desire to continue riding the wave of confidence from mid-September, no doubt.
The situation is all the less understandable since the reasonable solution from a medical point of view would have made things easier from a diplomatic point of view. By giving Alavés time to rest until the international break (inclusive), the Kyks could have returned fresh for the restart without arousing the ire of its French followers. With a trip to Vigo on October 19 and the reception of Dortmund in the Champions League three days later, he would have had time to get back into the rhythm before the clasico on the 26th.
De Bruyne also at rest with Belgium, but…
Instead, Kylian Mbappé assumes that he doesn’t care about the League of Nations, which gives us at least one thing in common. Kevin De Bruyne is following the same path with Belgium, except that he has missed the last three matches with Manchester City (last appearance on September 18 in the Champions League) and that his leadership within the Red Devils is not questioned. The former Paris Saint-Germain player abandons a selection that he is now struggling to make shine and finds himself orphaned by his vice-captain Antoine Griezmann, a very young international retiree.
According to The teamDidier Deschamps would not take it badly. His relationship with the League of Nations is comparable to that which he has with regard to friendly matches, namely a laboratory for new players, and a fridge for executives. Either. However, the balance of power between Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappé on one side, and the Blues and DD on the other, leans largely in favor of the former. And when it comes to image, everyone loses.
