MADRID.- The French striker real MadridKylian Mbappé, who has been in the eye of the hurricane since he landed this summer at the white club, seems to have recovered his best version in recent weeks, as he demonstrated on Sunday with a great goal to open the scoring in the 4- 2 of his team against Sevilla.
The French star, questioned for his poor performance since the beginning of the season, finally took off the pressure he was under in the last game of 2024 to return to being the usual Mbappé and silence his critics.
Not only the great goal from outside the area that he scored at the Bernabéu or the pass in the fourth white goal, but also all the energy he transmitted during the confrontation, suggest that he is already back.
And despite the downturn in play, at the moment, he has 14 goals and four assists in 24 games in all competitions, with 10 goals in the League, closing in on leader Robert Lewandowski (16).
Top scorer along with Vinicius
The forward is already the team’s top scorer along with the Brazilian Vinicius and aims to fight for all the individual awards as top scorer, a role for which the Merengue club signed him.
He is also the attacker who shoots the most on goal in the entire Spanish championship (37 to Lewandowski’s 31 shots) and the fifth most dribbler. On the negative side, he is also by far the player who falls offside the most times.
After confirming himself on the field against the Seville entity, he also did so off it at the end of the clash, revealing that there was a turning point in his performance after the ill-fated night against Athletic Bilbao, where he missed a penalty and his team lost 2 -1, December 4.
“I can do a lot more. I know I have a lot more football in my legs than I’m showing and in the last few games I’m playing better. The Bilbao game did me good because I hit rock bottom missing the penalty and it’s time to realize that “I have to give my all for this shirt and play with personality,” he said.
Since the match in San Mamés, Mbappé has scored in the four games he has played (he was absent against Rayo due to injury) and in the last three (Atalanta, Pachuca and Sevilla) his goals have served to open the scoring.
Integration into the squad aims to be the key to this change: “I think we know each other better, I have joined the team and that changes many things and now the adaptation, as the coach says, is over. I feel very good and You can see on the field that I understand myself better with the rest.
And he warned his rivals that his form will improve in 2025. “Next year I ask for good things in the personal lives of all Real Madrid fans and their families, because it is the most important thing; and, then, many titles, many games like today (against Sevilla) and enjoy playing for Real Madrid,” he said.
Self-critical
His coach, Carlo Ancelotti, had said hours before that his adaptation period was over and the forward confirmed what the Italian had said by having his best game with the merengue shirt.
“He has been self-critical, he has shown his quality. I said that his adaptation period was over and he has proven it. Sometimes I am right,” Ancelotti declared at the end of the match.
The former Paris Saint Germain star was not offering his best game since his arrival. It was attributed to several reasons such as the shadow of Vinicius, named the best player in the world by FIFA and who in theory plays in the same position as the Frenchman.
Mbappé went unnoticed in the defeats against Barcelona (4-0) in the league and against Milan (3-1) and Liverpool (2-0) in the Champions League, between the end of October and November, garnering harsh criticism.
However, Mbappé’s roar is already beginning to be heard from every corner of the Bernabéu, where his whip awakened the enthusiasm of a team that dreams of winning the league championship and the Champions League again at the end of a season in which the Real Madrid could make history by winning seven titles.
So far he has already achieved the first two, the European Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. The Spanish Super Cup awaits from January 9 to 12 in Saudi Arabia, although the team will begin the year playing the pending league match against Valencia.
