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French star Mbappe prefers to operate from the left flank, as evidenced by his displays for the national side and former clubs and is most dangerous when cutting in. However, he has been fielded as a No.9 in the striker position with Vinicius Junior plying…Read More
Kylian Mbappe (Image: AP)
Former Balon d’Or winner Karim Benzema opined that Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe hasn’t been able to hit prime form for the Spanish giants as he has been deployed in a role that does not come quite naturally to him.
French star Mbappe prefers to operate from the left flank, as evidenced by his displays for the national side and former clubs and is most dangerous when cutting in. However, he has been fielded as a No.9 in the striker position with Vinicius Junior plying his trade on the wing.
Benzema stated that Mbappe has faced struggles fitting into the role of the striker as it isn’t his natural position.
“The problem, in my opinion, is that (Mbappe) is not a central striker, even with the national team, every time he plays as a number nine he doesn’t feel right, because that’s not his position,” Benzema said.
“On the left, he’s got a guy who’s at the same level as him, Vinicius, so there is a problem, you can’t play Vinicius as a number nine or on the right, because when he plays on the left he makes the difference in every game,” he added.
“Mbappe isn’t a real number nine. People ask a lot of him and he’s under a lot of pressure, this isn’t Paris Saint-Germain,” the 36-year-old added.
Benzema also shared a few words of wisdom for his compatriot to find his goalscoring touch with Los Blancos stating that the forward just needs to keep at it.
“I’d advise him don’t give up because I don’t think he’s going to push Vinicius to move, he’s the best player in the world at the moment,” Benzema stated.
“Mbappe needs to get it into his head that today he’s a number nine, and forget about the left flank for a while,” the former Real Madrid star added.
Benzema also reminded Mbappe of the high standards that Real Madrid players are held to.
“If you go two or three games without a goal, you’re going to have a lot of problems,” Benzema concluded.