Mbappe wants ball into feet and he wants Bellingham and Vinicius to run in behind to make space and passing options for him, and to drag defenders away from him. But the other two want him to also do running in behind to make space for them, and when they make the runs in behind for him, they will want him to cover them defensively if the ball is lost. He isn’t doing that yet. This looks to me like an ego/pecking order situation rather than any big tactical problem. There were hints of that with Rodrygo in the preseason, and with Bellingham during the season.
They would probably concede to him if he actually showed he was superior. Both players have shown they have that in them. Mbappe has not shown he is so they've grown frustrated playing with a guy who does nothing but wants superstar treatment. His initial issues were just missing the goal. Now it has grown to much more Henry has seen this and publicly has admonished Mbappe because he actually cares about him and wants him to face his bullshit and get his head together, focused and into the game. Well done
Congratulations to Kylian Mbappé on becoming the first-ever work from home captain of the France national team.
🗣️ Kylian Mbappé: “My position? I can play in all three positions in attack. What the team needs.” pic.twitter.com/NBt4mpbet3— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) September 1, 2024
Deschamps is absolutely sinking - and he is dragging the NT with him. I don't think your interpretation is accurate. Mbappe was injured at the time - hence missing the call up
Someone should tell him the team needs for him to actually run and press for them.. not just stand around until we have the ball going toward the opponents box
He started the next day for Real Madrid... before the international break. RMC is saying the same thing re Deschamps sanctioning Mbappe. Riolo is close with the Mbappe clan. Mbappe expected the call up and was ready to go. 45 minutes before the list, Deschamps called Mbappe and told him he was being left off (see video below). Deschamps is not sinking France. Mbappe was sinking France. The team was playing extremely well until March of 2024... then Mbappe's form dropped like a stone and, since the attack was built around him, France stopped scoring. The last 3 games without Mbappe, scoring is back to normal and France beat Belgium 2x and Israel 1x. Not saying the team is better without Mbappe... but with this version of Mbappe, they are. Olise, Dembele, Barcola, Nkunku, Thuram and Kolo Muani are playing well for the team. You have 6 good players for 3 positions. Camavinga and Rabiot coming back allows Tchouameni to sit back (or Kante depending on form). Theo Hernandez and Kounde bring plenty to the attack from the wings. Really good team and playing with some intensity now.
For a guy of his physical athlethicism, you’de think he’ll at least be decent in the air. FFS, short king Dani Carvajal is head and shoulders above him aerially.
The opportunity cost of signing a left winger to play as our #9 instead of having an actual #9 profile...hopefully this won't be something that hurts us and is a boost to our rivals for the next several years to come. Because we passed on Kane for this, there's certainly no room for a Haaland or Gyökeres, we're gonna sink or swim on this decision. I'm still uncomfortable betting against Mbappé's talent, maybe he and the team eventually figure this out. We don't have much other choice.
Deschamps said his choice was a “one-off decision” and that the player “wanted to come” and join the team. https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...t-france-nations-league-squad-deschamps-talks
It's not a certainty. If Flo wants a Galactico, he goes for him regardless. In fact, people close to Haaland's dad like Jan Fjortoft keeps insisting that Flo wants to sign Haaland as next Galactico. If anything, Endrick signing closed the door for Haaland than getting Mbappe.
I'm disappointed in Mbappe. I was one of those who not only thought Haaland was the better option, but also believed Mbappe wouldn’t stand out as a world-beater at Real Madrid, given he’s now surrounded by players just as, if not more, talented. With that said, I am not writing him completely off yet as the entire team is playing like shit frankly. As poor as he was in El Clasico, Vinicius and Bellingham missed absolute sitters that were inexcusable. When Mbappe was injured, we looked just as poor. The second half of the Dortmund game, and even the first half of El Clasico (in terms of how we played, not our finishing), shows that this team struggles are 90% down to an attitude problem. Mbappe is paid Ronaldo-type wages (if not more), but obviously isn't a player that is immune to the form of the rest of the team. In other words, the team plays shit, Mbappe is going to be shit.
I've talked to others as well that see it this way but sometimes it seems as if the team is playing against everybody, the fans, the referee, the crowd, there's an incredible lack of focus and an overwhelming sense of anxiety that i feel has a lot to do with the way the club has campaigned for this team for about 2 years now, the Real Madrid TV war on the League and the officials is something that eventually, the players have to deal with and it's become a bit of a second instinct to them to feel cheated at the first step of misfortune. The club's attitude of just pouring gas into the fire hasn't provided the right environment for the team to succeed. The club might have thought it's working because results were coming, but at this point it seems like a terrible burden to put on our guys.
I'm talking about the team in general right now. The way we dive for cheap fouls at times (Rüdiger at the first Milan goal for example), is absolutely pathetic, then Real Madrid TV goes on a rant about the match official for 1,5 hours during a match preview. Completely absurd. The team is simply not playing positive football and it's reflected on every level. We really only have ourselves to blame. The difference between Hazard and Mbappe is that Hazard failed to plug into a good team, Mbappe is basically a bad performing superstar into an underperforming team. We've conceded 9 goals in our last 3 home games.
Balon D'or fiasco as well. We've been given this Mourinho-like siege mentality but it's been completely unnecessary and actually a burden.
If the fix was to simply take out Mbappe and the Bellingham machine would start running again, we wouldn't have played a poor 1:1 against Atleti, for example, a game Mbappe missed. There's more layers to this, but hitting on a Pinata, whether it's Tchouameni, Carlo, or Mbappe is far more effective in getting that frustration out of your soul. Personally i feel like you can't be this leaky on defense and expect the offense to save you all the time. The Dortmund result was celebrated but in hindsight it showed all the issues.
Defense is on Ancelloti. He doesn't setup the team properly to defend. He never has. And now with a star that doesn't want to contribute to even putting pressure on opponent defenders it's a recipe for disaster. I've posted already first thing that needs to be worked on is stopping the easy goal on us. But we have others that believe scoring is the main issue.
I see a very troubled team right now that's at war with everybody and I personally blame that on a lot of people. Using individuals as a shield is something this club has done for a long time though. Not saying nobody deserves blame, but several guys are being protected and go unquestioned about their business.
I haven't seen anyone being praised. People are blaming everyone, Perez, Ancelloti and the players. Who is protected?