He has hit a rich form of shape with Real Madrid, but Kylian Mbappé's former club PSG insists that they are better off without him.
When Kylian Mbappé finally left Paris Saint Germain and drew for Real Madrid last summer, the world of football left a collective sigh of relief. The longest running transfersaga of the game finally ended, but how would PSG survive without their talisman?
Remarkably good, it turns out. The Parisians are currently at the top of Ligue 1, ten points for the nearest Rivals Marseille. They are unbeaten in the competition and have passed the knockout round of the Champions League, albeit not very convincing.
Speaking with the media this week, PSG head coach Luis Enrique made the daring claim that Mbappé's departure actually helped the team. The Spaniard insisted that this season PSG has improved at both ends of the field without him.
“I was very brave last season when I told you that we would have a better team in attack and defense. I still think we are better at attack and defense, the figures are there to say it, “said Luis Enrique. “The players took it as a challenge.”
Are PSG really better without Kylian Mbappé?
It is a daring claim, but one that has some merit in the current form. This season, without Mbappé, an Imperious PSG has steamed their way to 2.5 points per match. Last year they were only dominant and recorded 2.2 ppg in the competition.
Luis Enrique explained: “Of course we wanted to keep Kylian, because everyone loved Kyky, but the team responds very positively, at a spectacular level. I told you that instead of having a player who scores 40 goals, I wanted players who all score a lot. That is our goal to keep improving. Faced with a situation that we did not want, but it happened, the adulthood of the team is very good. “
But players of the quality of Mbappé are really at their most important in the big matches and PSG have so far only had a handful of matches against peers. In the last phases of the Champions League, PSG could wish for them to have a 40-goal press season to rely on if they need something special.
PSG and Mbappé's Real Madrid are located in different branches of the Champions League bracket, which means that they cannot meet the semi-final stage. If both teams make progress and reach the last four, Luis Enrique can be made to reconsider his comments.
Get your game on! Whether you have from NFL-Touchdowns, NBA-Zoemer-Beaters, football goals from World Class or MLB home runs, our app has it all.
Comments