Slalom is definitely a French specialty. Before Clément Noël became Olympic champion in the specialty on Wednesday in China, Kylian Mbappé tamed the posts Militao and Vazquez to offer, at the very end of the match, a more than deserved victory for PSG, in the round of 16 first leg of the League. champions against Real Madrid. 20 minutes asked three players or former players to decipher the goal of the Bondynois, as if they were in the place of Kylian Mbappé, Lucas Vazquez or Thibaut Courtois.
Seen from the head of Lucas Vazquez by Jimmy Algérino, former PSG right-back:
“The defenders were disturbed by Neymar’s start and on his heel, we see them coming back towards their goal, that’s why Vazquez is back. His lack of lucidity on the spot and his lack of defensive baggage mean that he cannot bring Mbappé where he wants to take him, towards the corner post, or in any case to push him away from the goal. There’s a double take [avec Militao] and that’s where Mbappé is a genius on this action. We can see that he is trying from the start to pass between the two. But there is still a lack of defense.
As there was little time left, the people of Madrid may have thought that Neymar was going to take the last ball, a bit like a basketball player takes the last shot and that he was going to try a curling shot, or else look for Messi. On the heel, the defenders have to switch back to Mbappé, which was not planned in their end-of-game software. As they run towards Mbappé, towards their goal, it’s complicated to defend.
Maybe Vazquez and Militao expected him to overflow and cross back. Once he’s in the box, it’s almost impossible to defend against him, at least for Vazquez. Militao, who showed certain defensive shortcomings in this match, must speak to Vazquez to tell him to stay a little outside left to be able to bring Mbappé to one side and intervene. Mbappé’s class and the surprise of finding him there also made the difference. »
Seen from the head of Kylian Mbappé, by Gianni Bruno, former Lille striker, currently at La Gantoise (and present at the Parc on Tuesday):
“Kylian likes to dribble, provoke defenders, have one-on-ones. This is its strength, its primary quality. As soon as he has the ball, we see that he is attracted by the goal. On the action, his intention, already, is to enter the surface and once he is inside, he has priority, because the Madrid defenders are afraid to take a penalty. He is therefore in a strong position. With his quality of speed and explosiveness, he managed to pass with a simple stepover and a jerk.
Afterwards, he has the composure to open his foot and the ball goes between Courtois’ legs. With the way he arrives in front of the goalkeeper, the flat of the foot is the right contact surface. I think he wants to wrap it at the far post, which makes sense given his position, shifted to the left in a tight angle. So, with the flat of the foot, he opens the angle. The strike is a little touched and comes hard to the ground. It’s an instant gesture.
Even if Courtois stopped everything, I think that mentally, on this action, Mbappé was even more motivated and focused to put it in the bottom. When you are in check against a goalkeeper, you often say to yourself that the next opportunity you will have, you have to be even more concentrated. »
Seen from the head of Thibaut Courtois, by Bruno Valencony, former goalkeeper of Nice and Bastia:
“He was surprised to see Mbappé face to face, when he had two Madrid defenders to pass. And he did it all at once. I think, from the start, Courtois was not ready for an intervention like that and his reaction time is not good. So he tried to compensate by rising quickly to the duel to reduce the angle of strike, but was not fast enough. Afterwards, Mbappé was too fast in his shot, which did not allow the goalkeeper to tighten up and make a really perfect position. His position is almost perfect, but there is a very small space for the ball to pass. The element of surprise at the start fails him until the end.
A GREAT Thibaut Courtois tonight, what stops! 🥵 #UCL #PSGRMA pic.twitter.com/iM898JfB4m
— Belgians Players 🇧🇪 (@BelgianActu) February 15, 2022
His position that he adopts, us, in the old way, it did not exist. But it is generally done when the distance between the shooter and the goalkeeper is smaller. If he had remained in a normal position, on his support, near his post, closing his angle, especially since there is a defender [Valverde] who arrives to put pressure on him and he shoots quickly, he might not have taken the goal. He climbed and his reduction in the legs was not fast enough. Maybe, if it’s at the start of the match, he is more attentive, with more reactivity. In any event, when you’re a keeperwe believe that we always have something to do to avoid a goal.
At the moment, Mbappé is scoring a lot of his goals by opening his foot when he is on his left side and goes inside. It’s something Courtois must have prepared and perhaps anticipated on this shot. There, Mbappé opened less on the spot, because Valverde comes back and the tackle prevents him from opening his foot, and it was a slightly more centered shot. »