what should Kylian Mbappé do?

It's a real festival. Unfortunately for Mbappé, not a festival of goals, but a festival of memes which has been shaking the web since last night. Between his poor overall performance, his missed penalty and his head falling to the ground after a duel with Van Dijk, Internet users had a field day. Some compare him to Mariano Diaz, others see his trajectory at Real Madrid dangerously close to that of Eden Hazard, the biggest transfer in the club's history and a huge flop.

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The start of Kylian Mbappé's Madrid adventure is indeed turning sour, after several failed performances in highly anticipated matches. The Clasico against FC Barcelona, ​​and the trip to Anfield to face Liverpool. And if his goals, during his first matches, often hid poor content, today they no longer exist. Kylian Mbappé therefore receives at best mockery, at worst jeers from the Spanish press and the numerous consultants or star journalists who staff it. In this permanent chirping, we will remember the speech of a man, that of Gareth Bale.

Because the Welshman had an arrival, in conditions that were not similar, but similar. Because he arrived in 2013, from Tottenham where he had established himself as the best left midfielder in the Premier League, while a great player occupied the same position at Real Madrid, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. “Mbappé is the best player in the world. There are high expectations and enormous pressure on him, but he's a good enough player to know how to handle that. I think what doesn't help is that the team isn't playing well. Because I believe that not everything depends on one individual. You need your companions to help you along the way. He was a world class player at the time, the best player in the world in my opinion. And I am sure that when the team starts playing well, his performance will improve and he will have great success here.”he assured.

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What to do to restart it?

But will the team be able to play better with this Mbappé? Or is it first up to Mbappé to play better to help his team? The chicken or the egg. How to get the French striker back on his feet? Real Madrid thought they had the magic formula with their physical trainer Antonio Pintus. As a result, Mbappé has never made so little difference, in speed or power. Seeing him get moved by the first defender to come raises questions. The Frenchman makes himself move on each contact, where he was still resisting a few months before. However, he benefited from time that the internationals do not have, being exempt from the truce on two occasions. Even this bonus did not serve to restore energy to Mbappé. On the contrary, the first truce gave rise to a trip to Sweden, the full consequences of which we are still waiting to know.

Obviously, on the Real Madrid side, officially, there is no room for panic. Mbappé will inevitably return to his best level, and what he shows in training leaves no room for doubt. However, this speech has been repeated for several weeks already, and we do not see any improvement on the ground. Worse, he was the most alarming against Liverpool, an evening when he could freely access his preferred left lane, facing a young opponent Conor Bradley with no European reference. We saw the result. Despite average or even downright bad performances for weeks, Carlo Ancelotti has chosen to maintain it. With the aim of giving it automation, of integrating it as quickly as possible.

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But isn’t it above all a break that Mbappé needs to recharge his batteries? The two international breaks have obviously changed nothing, just like his replacement on the left side in the absence of Vinicius. Finally, the injury he contracted, relayed by the Spanish press, could give him the opportunity for a real break. Because the problem seems to have clearly drifted towards the mind. But do we treat the head as quickly as the body? “When you see my last performances, do you see a disturbed guy? »said Mbappé in March 2024. At the end of November 2024, the answer is yes.