Real Madrid Forward Finds Form After PSG Move
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe has been in inspired form with four goals in his last three games and said on Tuesday it took him longer than expected to play like his old self, after moving from Paris St Germain as he adjusted to a new team.
Mbappe added that the most difficult challenge since arriving at the Bernabeu in the close season was overthinking and not focusing his efforts in the right direction.
The 26-year-old said Real’s 2-1 LaLiga defeat at Athletic Bilbao in early December, when the forward missed his second penalty in a week, was a turning point.
“I believe it was a mentality issue and that was a point I realised that I had to work harder,” Mbappe told a press conference ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash at home to Salzburg. “I was thinking too much about how to do things.”
“Whether to go into space, whether to go to Vini’s (Vinicius Jr’s) area of the pitch, to Rodrygo’s area … when you overthink you don’t focus on your game. I was fine physically and with the group but I knew I had to do more.”
“That was the time to change the situation. I didn’t come to Madrid to play badly. Here we have to play well all the time and now I am ready to do that. I felt bad because I’m a player who always wants to do more.”
“And when you don’t perform in that level it’s normal to get targeted. I knew that it could happen and in the end it was a good moment because after that game I changed my mentality. I couldn’t do any worse, so when you hit rock bottom you can only go up,” he added.
Having scored only three times in Real’s 12 matches in all competitions up to and including the Bilbao game, Mbappe has since found his shooting boots and now has 12 LaLiga goals – to stand second in the scoring charts – and 17 overall.
“When you’re a player like me, with everything that was expected of me, it’s normal that people talk. But for me it’s not something personal, you have to be calm and focus on your game. I knew I could change the situation and I did,” he said.
“I’m never going to be a shy player. But when a player like me arrives at Madrid he has to come with humility. It’s not shyness, I can’t arrive here and demand. I came with maximum respect and it’s good that every day that goes by I have more importance in the team.”
“My objective is to play my best game for Madrid in every game, to do better. I have the feeling that I can do better, I have it in my legs. I’m the kind of player who needs this pressure and who needs to do more,” he concluded.
Real Madrid are 20th in the 36-team UEFA Champions League table on nine points, four points off the top eight spots that secure direct qualification to the last 16. Salzburg are 32nd on three points, five points adrift of the playoff places.
Reuters/Chidi Nwoke.
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