• Fifth and last hitter of the Blues, Monday night during the penalty shootout against Switzerland, Kylian Mbappé saw his shot nicely repelled by Yann Sommer.

  • In the second period of extra time, the Parisian could have given the advantage back to the Blues but he lacked lucidity in the last gesture.

  • This is what was enough for some "supporters" to designate the player, who had raised the whole of France in 2018, as the sole responsible for the elimination.

    Misery…

From our special correspondent in Bucharest,

It would seem that a strange phenomenon was born Monday, at the stroke of midnight, just after Kylian Mbappé missed his shot on goal synonymous with elimination of the France team from the 8th finals of the Euro. This phenomenon is that of the bashing of the Parisian striker, guilty it seems of all the ills of French football and even a little more.

Stunned by what had just fallen on the corner of our muzzle after the premature exit of the Blues, and surrounded mainly by non-French spectators at the Nacional Arena in Bucharest, we clearly did not feel the thing going up right away.

It was only by strolling, haggard, around the stadium looking for a taxi, looking at what was said to be (not) beautiful on social networks, that we realized what we'll call post-sadness at best, outright silliness at worst.

Criticism is easy but art is difficult

For starters, and it's staggering to have to put it so clearly, missing a shot on goal is nothing new in football history. The argument "to miss it, you already have to have the guts to pull it" is perhaps a little boat, but it is nonetheless crying out for the truth. And then, we say “missed”, but isn't it especially Yann Sommer and his iron glove who went to look for him at the level of the post, while it was being pulled in force at mid-height (therefore: well shot)? In a press conference after the match, Didier Deschamps was quick to clarify things in case some would be tempted to target his attacker more than any other player. “He takes responsibility for taking the last penalty, nobody blames him. Kylian takes responsibility, he feels guilty but he doesn't have to be. "

But shooting on goal is not the only gesture in the viewfinder of those who have decided to afford a slice of Mbappé on the cheap. There is also this failed face-to-face (for real this one) with the Swiss goalkeeper where, it is true, the Parisian makes the worst possible choice when receiving Pogba's caviar in depth by choosing to surprise General to delay to tap from the left when everything in Paulo's pass demanded to take the ball from the right in one touch. Here again, his lawyers would be entitled to appeal in extenuating circumstances.

When the number 10 of the Blues presents himself against Sommer, he has 111 minutes of play in his paws and it is not forbidden to think that he has already at that time typed a lot in his bar. lucidity.

Well, we also immediately pulled our hair out, but don't let that prevent us, well seated in front of the match that we are, from quickly regaining the lucidity that it no longer had.

“Kylian was expected and, Even if he did not score, he was often decisive, again defended the coach.

In the locker room, there is no fault of one more than the other.

He could have qualified us, there is not the slightest concern about that.

My group is united, nobody blames Kylian.

"

Attackers rush to Kyky's rescue

And if, at worst, there is someone who must be angry with Mbappé, it is Mbappé himself. With the immense ambitions which are his and which he has never hidden (we can at least grant him that, right?), Bondy's racing car does not need anyone to flog himself. Which was certainly his desire, moreover, from the second he saw his shot on goal diverted. Stunned, groggy, the striker of the Blues and PSG remained long minutes without moving, his eyes lost in space. The consolations of Paul Pogba, who rushed towards him while the Swiss were in exultation, did not change anything.

On Twitter, many active or retired attackers did not hesitate to give him their full support, like Djibril Cissé, who urged him to "keep his head up" because, it is well known, “it is only he who does nothing who is never wrong. If the Brazilian legend Pelé, the great friend of Mbappé, advised him to "keep his head high", it is perhaps the words of Allan Saint-Maximin which best sums up the substance of our thinking. “See the reversal of the jacket of these“ supporters ”lynching a man who, yesterday, carried them to the top to make them experience the most beautiful of communions [in reference to the 2018 World Cup]… This is the most failed action of the evening… There is no scapegoat… We win together, we lose together ”. AMEN ALLAN.

See the reversal of the jacket of these "supporters" lynching a man who yesterday carried them to the top to make them experience the most beautiful of communions ... That's the most failed action of the evening ... There is no goat emissary… We win together, we lose together… ❤️🇫🇷

- Allan Saint-Maximin (@asaintmaximin) June 28, 2021

Some of the points raised by these (not) new genre haters are not completely irrelevant, however.

That Mbappé did not score during this Euro is a fact, that he could sometimes have a tendency to want to do everything alone when his team was skating (cf. The second period against Hungary), too.

But it would be forgotten very quickly that he was often at the origin of the goals of the France team during this Euro with some well-felt assists.

Not to mention that, delicious, in the heel, which he gives to Griezmann on Benzema's second goal.

Finally, and we will stop there, isn't it a little dishonest to place the responsibility for the failure of the Blues on Monday on the shoulders of a striker when his team was still leading by two goals nine minutes from the end of regulation time?

However, if the Parisian knows the game of free attacks and short-sighted analyzes, and that he is probably affected, he still wanted to apologize for the missed penalty.

“I wanted to help the team but I failed.

I know you, the fans, are disappointed, but I would still like to thank you for your support and for always believing in us.

The dogs bark, the caravan passes (with class).

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  • Kylian Mbappé

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