Mueez Ajao
– The PSG striker was under pressure ahead of Thursday’s Nations League semi-final but gave an emphatic response with a match-winning display.
– Kylian Mbappe inspired France to Sunday’s Nations League final against Spain with arguably the most impressive 45-minute display of his career to date.
– Admittedly, the Paris Saint-Germain forward will have more spectacular performances both in terms of statistics and in terms of content, but the context in which he rallied to inspire Les Bleus to recover from a two-goal half-time deficit was the most trying of his career.
Also Read: France complete comeback against Belgium to reach Nations League final
– Mbappe, who became the quickest France player to 50 caps aged just 22 and 291 days, is not a player used to coming under pressure, yet when he took to the field at Juventus’ Allianz Stadium on Thursday, he was weighed down by circumstances.
– Nevertheless, at times he appeared to be playing at a gear or two higher than anyone else on the field, rekindling the type of form that PSG have not seen often enough this season, despite a return of four goals and five assists in 11 games.
– “We said things to each other at half-time and we came back with real intentions,” he told the French FA’s social channels. “We were better in our transmissions, we created chances. It gave us hope. In the end, it was completely crazy.”
– Certainly, Mbappe thrived playing off the left, where he was afforded more room than he has grown used to in his central role with PSG.
– His relationship with possible future club-mate Benzema, meanwhile, seems to lean upon serendipity as much as a genuine understanding for the moment. Every so often, Mbappe will do something incredible that Benzema profits from, yet there is no clear rhythm or pattern to what they are doing.
– Given that the pair have only played a handful of matches together, though, that should hardly be surprising. And in a strange way, this should be encouraging both for France and Real Madrid as there is evidently so much potential in the duo.
– “I love playing matches like that,” Mbappe said. “These are pressure matches that everyone watches and that everyone wants to play in.”
– Certainly, all eyes were on Mbappe against Belgium and for once there was an expectation that he might fail.
– He did not, instead producing the type of display that will whet the appetite of Real Madrid fans, many of whom will hope he is not quite as scintillating when France meet Spain in Sunday’s final.
