Having struggled since his arrival at Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé came in for his first criticism after the Clasico loss at the Bernabeu, where he put in a fairly disastrous performance. Ahead of the clash with AC Milan, his former France team-mate Karim Benzema alerted the club to a major problem linked to the forward.
Karim Benzema is a Real Madrid legend. Having carried the team on his shoulders after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the French striker, now with Al Ittihad, has left an indelible mark on the hearts of Madrid fans. His exceptional 2021/2022 season, crowned by a Champions League title and above all a Golden Ball, remains an absolute benchmark.
But despite his new life in Saudi Arabia, Karim Benzema continues to keep a close eye on Real Madrid. The former France international gave a lengthy interview to El Chiringuito in which he discussed the mixed start made by his compatriot Kylian Mbappé.
The Bondy native arrived as a galactic recruit from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, but has struggled to establish himself in Real Madrid’s attack. His last La Liga match against Barcelona completely disgusted the fans, who are already beginning to be critical of the 2018 world champion.
Karim Benzema drives the point home with an obvious diagnosis of Mbappé
Karim Benzema, who has already played with Kylian Mbappé in the France team, knows what he is capable of. The Madrid legend is also aware of his limitations, and admitted to El Chiringuito what Real Madrid would not want to hear. For him, Kylian Mbappé is not a centre-forward and has always performed well on the left flank, the position now occupied by Vinicius Jr at Madrid.
‘For me, the problem is that he’s not a centre-forward. That’s not the case with Mbappé. Every time he plays for the 9′ national team, he doesn’t do well. That’s not his position. But the problem is that on the left, there’s a boy who looks like him. At the same level, Vinicius. So there is a problem. I don’t think Vinicius can be put in ‘9’ or on the right. Because in every party, the difference is on the left. Ancelotti knows a lot about this and we’ll see how he goes about it… Solution? Mbappé is not a pure ‘9’. I understand people, they ask for a lot of things. There’s a lot of pressure, this isn’t PSG,’ Karim Benzema began.
Benzema shows Mbappé the only solution
Although Karim Benzema believes that Kylian Mbappé is not playing in his preferred position, he admits that the France captain must try to be more intelligent. KB9 asked the former Parisian to adapt to his position and, above all, to the pressure he is already under at Madrid.
‘Kylian, you don’t have to give up. Because I don’t think Vinicius is going to budge. He’s the best in the world at the moment. And the boy can’t be shaken. Mbappé needs to get it into his head that he’s now a ‘9’ and that he’s forgetting about the left. That he moves with Vinicius, alternating. He was always very good when he was on the left, but now he has to be very good elsewhere on the pitch. The pressure is very high. It’s different from when I was 21. It’s not the same as Mbappé at 25. He knows there’s a lot of pressure at Madrid. With two or three games to go, if you don’t score a goal, they’re going to kill you. You can win the Ballon d’Or or whatever you want, as long as you go three games without scoring, again…’ added Benzema.
‘Mbappé has to learn to live with the pressure. He’s very strong at Real Madrid. He has to put that pressure on himself every game, every game is new… He has to score goals, they have to get him to score goals only. He has the level and everything to do it,’ he concluded.
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