Kylian Mbappé makes the kids burst into tears again. This Sunday, one of them was able to sneak up to him to snatch the precious tunic which is worth much more today than yesterday. Because Kylian Mbappé finally looks like the one everyone expected at Real Madrid. After six months inside, marked by long sequences of doubts, missed penalties and an avalanche of criticism, the former Parisian is doing much better.
For the past few weeks, he seemed to be on the right path. Sunday, against Las Palmas, Mbappé had his best match since his arrival in Spain. He first chased away his ghosts by finally converting a penalty after two failed attempts which had caused talk throughout Europe. This time, with great calm and lucidity, he carried out the sentence. Then, he sent a missile with first intention into the top corner. Above all, he was perfectly integrated into a daring offensive animation of which he took leadership.
Are we being too harsh with Tchouaméni, whistled at the Bernabeu? “He is no longer progressing”
Video credit: Eurosport
Against Las Palmas he was a hurricane, an unstoppable player who recalled the best version of Ronaldo Nazario
You also had to see his fantastic outside foot for a Bellingham at the end of the race (74th) to understand that the former Bondy kid is in the process of becoming the one he dreamed of in his childhood bedroom by imagining a destiny in the biggest club in the world.
Even the Madrid press, which copiously criticized him during his failed autumn, today admits that the captain of the Blues is no longer the same: “that’s it, what was supposed to happen happened and Ancelotti’s Madrid is now Mbappé’s Madridsaid even José Ignacio Garcia-Ochoa in his Sunday editorial on Marca. Against Las Palmas he was a hurricane, an unstoppable player who recalled the best version of Ronaldo Nazario and brought back some of the most voracious Cristiano.“
-Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) scorer against Las Palmas in La Liga, January 19, 2025
Credit: Getty Images
We will necessarily have to wait for a slightly better armed opposition and some brilliant moves in the Champions League to draw such definitive conclusions, but Mbappé is on the right path. We must remember that if Real sank against Barcelona last week, they were the only ones to be saved from the collective sinking by Carlo Ancelotti. And although his season got off to a very bad start, he has already scored 17 goals and is second among the top scorers in the Spanish championship, four points behind Robert Lewandowski.
He is a great striker who is very good in the center, more than on the wing
Carlo Ancelotti, who never stopped defending him even in the heart of the biggest storms, savors today: “He is the best center forward in the world even if there were doubts about his ability to play in this positioncommented the Real coach after the victory. He is a tall striker who is very good in the center, more than on the wing, because he can better take advantage of his lack of marking.”
In December, Mbappé prophesied: “It’s a very difficult moment but it’s also the best time to change things and show who I am.“So who is he? Once again a player who makes kids dream. Dream and cry with happiness.
