Two and a half months later, he weathered the storm. Caught in tormented winds, Kylian Mbappé experienced an oh-so-tortured autumn – both in sporting and media terms. On October 26, the striker and his Real Madrid were slapped by FC Barcelona, a scathing 0-4 defeat at the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium. If he seeks a revenge, this Sunday (8 p.m.) in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, he knows he is responsible for the rout: signaled offside eight times, messy and amorphous, the French had come under criticism.
At the same time, the Stockholm affair was swirling. Not summoned for the October gathering of the French team, Kylian Mbappé was seen in a nightclub in the Swedish capital. This had already sparked an outcry. But the scale was increased tenfold after the opening of an investigation for “rape and sexual assault” in the hotel where the player was staying. He was not directly cited but several local media said he was “reasonably suspicious”.
In bad shape, the former PSG almost no longer existed on the pitch and missed two successive penalties during Madrid’s defeats at Liverpool (2-0) and Bilbao (2-1). But, after these few turbulent weeks, the weather became milder. Before facing FC Barcelona in the Super Cup final this Sunday, Kylian Mbappé looks better.
A title and goals
First, the investigation opened by Swedish justice was abandoned, due to insufficient evidence, at the beginning of December. Then, Real Madrid won the UEFA Intercontinental Cup to round off the year. Casa Blanca even took the lead in La Liga with two points ahead of Atlético, but one more contested match. Kylian Mbappé has started scoring again, four times since December.
“He had a very good month of December. He scored goals, he was more active. Little by little, he is regaining his best level,” even launched Carlo Ancelotti this Thursday after the semi-final of the Super Cup won by Real Madrid against Mallorca (3-0). But the Merengues coach knows it, Kylian Mbappé like the rest of the team must redeem themselves after the humiliation suffered during the October Clasico.
This Saturday at a press conference, the Italian coach looked back on this defeat: “We made a fairly clear assessment of this defeat. We started well and collapsed in the second half. We must reproduce the good things and avoid the mistakes made. » Since then, the dynamics have been reversed and Barça, very strong at the start of the season, has seriously slowed down.
“We are very close to a new title”
Already winners of the European Super Cup and the UEFA Intercontinental Cup, Real Madrid does not forget the importance of this meeting: “It’s a final, we are very close to a new title and we let’s only think about the positive,” added Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian also returned to the presence of Dani Olmo, authorized to play with Barça even though his license had been invalidated, due to lack of sufficient financial guarantees. “If Olmo is decisive, well I will say to myself that we were not able to slow down a very high level player, that’s all,” commented the Madrid coach soberly.
During the October Clasico, Dani Olmo entered during the match. Kylian Mbappé had already crossed his path last summer, during the semi-final of Euro 2024 won by Spain (2-1)… and the attacking midfielder from La Roja had scored. To talk about a pet peeve, it’s a little early. Especially since in recent times, Mbappé has learned to chase away nightmares.
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