Kylian Mbappé is well on his way to becoming the "old" player again. After "hitting rock bottom", the French star striker is making a new attempt to reach the top at Real Madrid.
24.12.2024, 16:30
24.12.2024, 16:33
SDA
After months of hardship in which he "hit rock bottom", Kylian Mbappé finally seems to be showing his true colors, that of a striker with rediscovered efficiency who has silenced the criticism he has faced since arriving at Real Madrid in the summer.
Mbappé played his first outstanding game for the Merengues at the weekend after six months in the white shirt of the "biggest club in the world". On Sunday against Sevilla FC in La Liga, the six-time top scorer in Ligue 1 in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt opened Madrid's attacking festival in the 10th minute with a magnificent shot from 20 meters.
Pace, precision and technical brilliance
This tenth goal in 16 league games is not only his finest to date, but also testifies to a newfound spontaneity and confidence, characterized by pace and precision in execution that has not been seen from him for some time.
The striker, who has just celebrated his 26th birthday, demonstrated his technical brilliance once again when he played a one-touch ball to Brahim Diaz and set up the Moroccan's goal to make it 4-1. His second assist of the
"Now he's showing his true colors. He's been good in the last few games, but he can still improve," his coach Carlo Ancelotti had subtly predicted before this game: "He's more motivated, more enthusiastic, happy to be here."
"Adaptation complete"
"I feel very comfortable in the team. You can see on the pitch that I'm playing better with the others and that the whole team is playing much better," he agreed with a smile afterwards." He has scored four goals and provided two assists in the last four games and is now Real's top scorer in all competitions this season along with Vinicius (14).
Mbappé admitted that he "hit rock bottom" on December 4 in Bilbao, when he once again went through a losing game (1-2) like a ghost and missed a penalty, before picking his head up again.
"I think this game helped me (...) It made me realize that I have to give everything for this jersey and play with personality," explained "Kyky", who had also wandered around like a lost soul in the weeks before when he suffered a bitter defeat in the league against Barcelona (0:4), in the Champions League against Milan (1:3) and against Liverpool (0:2).
The Stockholm file is closed
In the meantime, there were also those non-invitations to the French national team, between the need for rest granted and the rejuvenation prescribed by Didier Deschamps, which quickly raised the debate about his status as captain, especially in the wake of a failed Euro 2024 that ended with a broken nose. It went so far that the 2018 world champion had to affirm in a rare televised speech that his "love for Les Bleus has not moved".
In fact, 2024 was the most turbulent year of Mbappé's career, not only in football but also on a non-sporting level: while the bitter financial dispute with PSG - from whom he is demanding €55 million in outstanding payments - is dragging on in court, the rape investigation following his stay in Stockholm was dropped, much to his relief, after a four-month trial that had incriminated him.
Since the judge decided to drop the case on December 12, Mbappé is suddenly a fully-fledged footballer again, with only one thing left to focus on: being a goalscorer worthy of the world star he is.
He, who has just won the Intercontinental Cup (his second trophy with Real after the European Super Cup, in which he scored every time), announced in the form of a wish: "I know that I can achieve much more. I want to be much better in 2025 than I was in 2024 and win many titles".
