A lightning call to get rid of the defender, a devastating hook to eliminate the goalkeeper before finishing the job, in all serenity, facing the empty goal. When he then headed in a short stride, arms outstretched to cut through the Breton breeze, towards the Parisian supporters’ parking lot to celebrate this victorious goal scored after additional time against Brest, Kylian Mbappé surely did not imagine that this action was to lead to a long period of scarcity. He certainly didn’t imagine, either, that the joy, the emotion and the sensations linked to the happiness of finding the way to the nets were going to escape him for a month.
We were on March 11 and since then the world champion’s goal counter has not changed and remains stuck at 31 units (all competitions combined) with PSG. An international break has passed through there in the meantime and Mbappé had scored twice with the Blues against the Netherlands, but the fact remains that the Parisian striker faces unusual efficiency in the red and blue jersey : no goals scored in the last three games with Paris.
An anomaly in his recent history with PSG, since we have to go back to the end of November 2021 to find traces of a similar situation, with three consecutive meetings without scoring. He had experienced an even more significant air hole between September and October 2021 and six consecutive games without a goal.
So, simple temporary mishap or real slack? Taking a step back, we realize all the same that the French international has been idling since the beginning of the year.
In 14 games, he scored 11 times, but 45% of his goals came in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France against Pays de Cassel, a Sixth Division team.
A total which places him in 10th place in the European hierarchy alongside Kolo Muani or Kane, but behind Haaland (17), Rashford (17), Benzema (16) or… Lacazette and Ben Yedder (12). Counting only his goals scored in the league, he tumbles to 35th position over the year.
Behind this quantified observation, it is above all the content of its services that raises questions. Saturday in Nice, he did not target a shot (a single attempt in total), which had not happened to him since January 2022. This can be explained by the general apathy that has been gaining his team for several weeks, by the erosion of the Parisian collective or by the absence of a Neymar, one of his privileged relays on the ground, capable of serving him in all circumstances.
Impossible not to mention, too, the possibility of a physical backlash in a season at a crazy pace. With more than 3,700 minutes in the legs since August (5th largest total in Europe among attackers), Kylian Mbappé has played 46 games in all competitions. Rarely injured, rarely replaced, rarely rested – seven missed PSG games – it is obvious that a lack of freshness is felt. He still has eight games to regain his superb and clinical efficiency in order to guide PSG to the title of champion.