Tag: Kylian Mbappé

3 Real Madrid stars who are trying their best to get benched
Features, LaLiga

3 Real Madrid stars who are trying their best to get benched

Real Madrid suffered a nightmare performance in the Champions League on Wednesday night against a team they can usually count on beating, Liverpool. The 2-0 scoreline, if anything, flattered the Merengues, who could have been battered by at least five if it weren't for the continued heroics of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. There is a lot of collective blame to go around for a team that looks dead to rights without the Brazilian contingent of Eder Militao, Rodrygo Goes, and Vinicius Junior available, but here are three men who have been especially woeful of late. Ferland Mendy That Ferland Mendy remains employed by Real Madrid is a downright farce. He is one of the worst players to have ever played for Real Madrid at a technical level, because he cannot cross, he cannot beat players one...
Kylian Mbappe is making France angrier, but his decision should be praised
LaLiga

Kylian Mbappe is making France angrier, but his decision should be praised

As even Real Madrid fans can attest, Kylian Mbappe is a superstar player who isn't afraid to make controversial decisions to benefit his own career, regardless of what the outside world thinks about him. That much has to be respected, and, on some level, it's important for all players to have a bit of that mentality in them, because as football becomes more cold and corporate, players have to realize that nobody will take care of you except for YOU. Mbappe has received particularly ridiculous criticism and pressure from his own country, whether that was at PSG or on the French national team. He's been catching heat lately for not being as present for the national team for in-season friendly fixtures, even as, hypocritically, many of these same personalities in France are criticizing ...
Fede Valverde takes subtle jab at Luis Enrique, Kylian Mbappe’s critics
Features, LaLiga

Fede Valverde takes subtle jab at Luis Enrique, Kylian Mbappe’s critics

Kylian Mbappe has enjoyed a successful start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu, molding his game into more of an all-around striker at Real Madrid in order to help fellow superstar forwards Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes continue to blossom on the wings. At PSG, Mbappe formed a devastating one-two pairing with Neymar that reached a Champions League Final, but he found it more difficult to co-exist with the other superstars when Lionel Messi arrived in 2021. Last season, Mbappe was the main man for PSG and helped lead the team to the Champions League semifinals, but he was often criticized by manager Luis Enrique for not defending enough or for not taking on additional burdens despite being, by far, the best player on a poorly-constructed side. Real Madrid are already giving Mbapp...
How right are Kylian Mbappe’s critics?
Features, LaLiga

How right are Kylian Mbappe’s critics?

One of the most satisfying lines in sports is proclaiming that a superstar, maligned by vultures in the media and all-too-eager rival fans, has "answered the critics" in emphatic fashion, embarrassing the doubters and haters purely on the back of their superlative play on the pitch. Fede Valverde recently made remarks along those lines in reference to Real Madrid's newest superstar, Kylian Mbappe, who completed a move five years in the making to the Santiago Bernabeu to become the club's highest-paid player over actual Ballon d'Or favorites Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior. Although Fede is convinced that Mbappe has been a rousing success to this early point in his Real Madrid career and many around the club will echo a similar sentiment, there are plenty of fans around European f...
Ranking the 10 best strikers in the world in 2024
Champions League, Features

Ranking the 10 best strikers in the world in 2024

Who are the best strikers in world football right now? With two months of action in the books in the 2024/25 league seasons, let's take an updated look at the best No. 9's on the planet, ranking them from tenth to first. Where did Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane land? How does Ollie Watkins stack up with the elites? 10. Andrej Kramaric, Hoffenheim For years, Andrej Kramaric has been one of the best strikers in the Bundesliga, setting records as a goal-scorer for Hoffenheim without showing any desire to leave the German side. Kramaric makes this list over bigger names like Alvaro Morata and Dusan Vlahovic, because he honestly outplayed both of those guys significantly last season and has already been better to start the 2023/24 season. The problem with world football these days is...
5 bold predictions for Kylian Mbappé in his first Real Madrid season
Features, LaLiga

5 bold predictions for Kylian Mbappé in his first Real Madrid season

Real Madrid have begun the 2024-25 season on a positive note. Even though the performances during the first two months of the season have been a mixed bag, with a feeling that this team is yet to unlock its full potential, the results have been there. 10 games, seven wins, three draws, and no defeats. Add to that the UEFA Super Cup trophy to kick off the season, and the arrival of Kylian Mbappé to an already very strong outfit. Things don't look as bleak as they have been made to be. Speaking of Mbappé, the general consensus among the Madridistas and the media has been that the Frenchman is still finding his feet within Carlo Ancelotti's system. Ancelotti fired Real Madrid to the double last season, employing a 4-4-2 tactical scheme with Vini Jr. and Rodrygo as the strikers and Ju...
Kylian Mbappe is already one of the top 10 Champions League goal scorers of all time
Champions League, Features, LaLiga

Kylian Mbappe is already one of the top 10 Champions League goal scorers of all time

Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe scored his first Champions League goal for the Royal Whites in their Champions League season opener against Stuttgart, stroking home an easy chance created by Aurelien Tchouameni and Rodrygo Goes to give Real a 1-0 lead over Die Schwaben in a game they'd win 3-1. Mbappe was already scoring goals in the Champions League at a rapid pace for PSG despite never winning a final. With that goal against Stuttgart, Mbappe now has a whopping 49 goals in club football's biggest competition. Those 49 goals actually tie Alfredo Di Stefano for the 10th-most all-time goals in the competition once called the European Cup in Di Stefano's era, so Mbappe has already cracked the top 10 at the age of 25. He will only need two more goals to surpass fellow Frenchman T...
The ridiculous pass Aurelien Tchoumaneni hit against Stuttgart to help create Kylian Mbappe’s goal
Features, LaLiga

The ridiculous pass Aurelien Tchoumaneni hit against Stuttgart to help create Kylian Mbappe’s goal

Defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is one of the most important players on Real Madrid, even as the superstar attackers, Jude Bellingham, and Fede Valverde soak up most of the praise and Ballon d'Or love for the 2024/25 season. Nobody on Real Madrid can do what Tchouameni does as one of the best No. 6's in the world, screening the defense expertly - he can even star at center back on his own - while pinging beautiful passes with his high football IQ and technical ability. Tchouameni went overlooked in Real's 3-1 win over Stuttgart to open the 2024/25 Champions League season, but there's one ridiculous pass everyone should take a second look at. From his own half, Tchouameni quickly looked over his shoulder and then, with one touch, smashed the ball across his body, skipping ...
Kylian Mbappe: ‘5 goals in 7 games? I can do better’
Features, LaLiga

Kylian Mbappe: ‘5 goals in 7 games? I can do better’

Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe added another goal to his tally on Tuesday night, opening the scoring in Real's 3-1 win over Bundesliga side Stuttgart to mark the Frenchman's first Champions League goal as a Madridista. There will surely be many more to come, and although Mbappe was criticized for a slow start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu, the ketchup does indeed seem to be flowing out of the bottle after his brace against Real Betis before the international "break". In total, Mbappe has scored five goals in seven games, but at the press conference after the game, the new Real Madrid striker made it clear that he wants an even better ratio than that, simply stating, “5 goals in 7 games? I can do better.” Mbappe is averaging more than three dribbles per game in LaLiga, and ...
Jude Bellingham: ‘They are trying to create something negative between me, Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius’
Features, LaLiga

Jude Bellingham: ‘They are trying to create something negative between me, Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius’

Real Madrid have the most dynamic quartet of superstars in world football in Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, and Rodrygo Goes. All four are Ballon d'Or caliber players, and all four are showing signs of clicking together after a handful of starts at Real Madrid. Vinicius Jr., Bellingham, and Rodrygo already won the Champions League and LaLiga together before Mbappe's arrival, and now with Mbappe becoming the primary scorer after multiple seasons as the top goal-scorer in Ligue 1, the ceiling is even higher for Real Madrid. Before Mbappe stepped foot at the Santiago Bernabeu, there were many in the media raising concerns about too many cooks in the kitchen and a possible clash of egos in the Real Madrid locker room. Jude Bellingham, who has been the subject of plen...