France legend Bixente Lizarazu has taken shots at Kylian Mbappe and claimed that the forward is not the threat that he used to be.
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Mbappe criticized by LizarazuTold that he is 'no longer scary'Not impressed with France captain's commentsWHAT HAPPENED?
Mbappe made the long-awaited move to Real Madrid this summer as a free agent following his departure from Paris Saint-Germain. However, the Frenchman has endured a slow start to life with Los Blancos. The issues have not just been with Real Madrid but a lack of form and threat has also been apparent with the French national team as Mbappe struggled to help Les Bleus in the Euros. Lizarazu has now hit out at the 25-year-old by claiming that the French captain is no longer as threatening as before as he also talked about his comments towards supporters' dissatisfaction with Les Bleus.
AdvertisementGettyWHAT LIZARAZU SAID
In his column in L'Equipe, Lizarazu wrote: "You can't be insensitive to the feelings of the French team's supporters, to the frustrations they may have, to the questions they may have. You have to try to answer them, give them hope, it's part of the job and the emotional connection you have to have with your fans.
"Perhaps he is less serene than usual, more tense because he is slow to find the best footballing version of himself. Mbappe is no longer as explosive or decisive as he was. He remains a very good scorer, a very good player of course, but he is no longer scary as before."
AFPTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Mbappe scored just once during France's journey the semi-final of the Euros in Germany, and that was a penalty in the group stage against Poland. The same lack of form has followed him at Santiago Bernabeu as he has struggled to fit into Carlo Ancelotti's team as well as had been expected. However, before the start of the September international break, Mbappe broke his league duck with a brace against Real Betis.
WHAT NEXT FOR MBAPPE?
The 25-year-old will be hopeful that he can do the same during France's second and last game of the September international break when Les Bleus take on Belgium on Monday evening.