The high price of an extended summer vacation

When you take a look at the statistics, you would say that this season is also doing great, but football is not just numbers, no matter how much various platforms insist on presenting it to us as such. And maybe even make it indigestible to us. In terms of play, Kylian Mbappe is not doing as good as the numbers suggest. It is true that he has scored eight goals in seven games, but strictly speaking, he is part of a team that has had its worst start to the season since Qatari money flowed into Paris Saint-Germain (2012).

The Saints have never had fewer points on their account after the first seven rounds, they sit only fifth in the table, they were held back by Clermont (0-0) at the weekend and when that is the case, the sharp edge of criticism is directed at the best player. Since there is no longer Lionel Messi or Neymar in the locker room, L'Equipe reproaches the captain of the French national team and states, on several grounds, that due to his (in)action, Luis Enrique's team is still wandering. He is able to play brilliantly (in the Champions League against Borussia or to win Lyon and Marseille in derby matches of the championship), but also to mess up dangerously (draws with Lorient, Toulouse, Clermont, defeat by Nice at Parc des Princes).

That is why Mbappe is under attack, who cannot be amnestied even by the fact that he is the team's top scorer, because a reputable newspaper notes that he is more 'modest' on the field than he was. It connects with the departures of Messi to MLS and Neymar to Saudi Arabia, who, even if they didn't have a day, were able to connect Mbappe with a goal in one move. Now, Kylian is forced to act more between the lines, where he obviously struggles and spends more energy than before, so he has less strength left to finish actions with recognizable penetrations.

L'Equipe sees the main reason for such fading on the field in the fact that Mbappe did not go through the pre-season with the team. And that was due to an open conflict with the president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, because he refused to sign a new contract, which he insisted on, so that the owner of the club would only bring him back in competition for the team when the championship started at earliest, and the transfer window was coming to an end and he realized that he would not sell him. It was too late, because no coach in the world, however brilliant, can do anything with an unprepared player. And Mbappe was resting, videos of his stay in Cameroon were circulating on the Internet, it's not like he was doing a lot of individual work. And now he is paying the price.

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For example, coach Didier Deschamps did not use him in the control match against Germany due to a minor injury, for the same reason he left the field during the clash with Marseille, and therefore had noticeable difficulty moving when visiting Clermont. Newcomers Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos did not really try to cut his struggles short. Perhaps everything will be better after the international break, although then France will play a derby qualifier with the Netherlands (and a friendly match with Scotland).

Meanwhile, PSG will host Newcastle in the Champions League...