Kylian Mbappe guarantees Real Madrid goals. Every season for his club and country, whether they win or not, Mbappe always performs up to what is expected from him from a goalscoring sense. He scores 40 goals every season, and tries his best to help the team through that.
However, it is not the only thing his teams have needed from him. Before the World Cup started, Mbappe talked about how he feels some sort of responsibility to be more defensively present for the team.
He talked about his awareness of not being the most reliable presser, and how, starting from the World Cup, those things will change. Well, they have not changed, at least not up to the standard that fans were expecting.
Mbappe still walks and sulks around when Real Madrid do not have the ball. At many points, so does Vinicius Junior, but at least he puts a shift in.
He was asked about it in the press conference before Real Madrid’s match against Inter on Tuesday, and his reply was really interesting, as it showed how he can talk about these things under two different lights.
Kylian Mbappe needs to take accountability for himself
He said: “Just me and Vinicius? Of course we have to improve. But that’s perfectly natural. I can say that I score more goals than [Raphinha and Dembele], and they should be scoring more.
“But I have to be smart and admit that I need to improve, even though I do things the others (Raphinha and Dembele) don’t. But it’s a never-ending debate. We all need to improve in this area. And with the ball too.”
If you look at it at face value, and like Mbappe, you give your answer pretending to not think about the whys for this one question, then sure, Mbappe does a lot that no one else in the world does. His goalscoring is second to none, and the amount of chances he creates out of nothing are frankly incredible.
But, fans don’t pay so much money to watch him, just for him to then take the easy way out. Mbappe’s problem is genuine, as is Vinicius Junior’s, and both of them have to lead the team by example.
It is not just the defenders’ job to defend anymore. These players need to move and lead the charge, and show that they want to win the ball back just as much as the others do.
Real Madrid have needed it for quite some time, and until it is fully brought into the culture of the locker room, things will not change.
Mbappe may score a billion goals, but if the team needs him to defend, there is no point deflecting the criticism. This should be his way to show the team he is one of them.
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