‘I couldn’t do any worse’: Mbappe opens up on ‘mentality issue’ after Real Madrid move

Mbappe has started to hit form after a slow start to life at Real Madrid

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Kylian Mbappe has opened up on the “mentality issue” which saw him make a slow start to life at Real Madrid.

Great things were expected from Mbappe when he made a free move to the Bernabeu from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

But the France captain did not hit his best form early on in the Spanish capital, at one point scoring only three times during an 11-game stretch, a run which included three penalty misses.

More recently though, the 26-year-old has found form, netting four times in his last three games for Real.

“I believe it was a mentality issue and that was a point I realised that I had to work harder,” said Mbappe ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League game against Red Bull Salzburg.

“I was thinking too much about how to do things. Whether to go into space, whether to go to Vini’s [Vinicius Jr’s] area of the pitch, to Rodrygo’s area. When you overthink, you don’t focus on your game.

“I was fine physically and with the group but I knew I had to do more, that was the time to change the situation.

“I’m a player who always wants to do more. And when you see that you don’t do that, it affects you.

“I couldn’t do any worse, so when you hit rock bottom [after miss vs Liverpool] you can only go up.”

Speaking on the added pressure on his shoulders since joining Los Blancos, Mbappe added: “It’s normal. People expected a lot of me.

“I don’t take it personally, it’s football. You have to stay calm and focused. I knew the situation could change.”

Mbappe netted a stunning opener against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup earlier this month before going on to lose 5-2 to their fierce rivals. Since then, the France forward has scored against Celta Vigo before adding two versus La Palmas at the weekend.

“I’ve been in good form for a month, or a month and a half,” Mbappe said. “I have total confidence for Wednesday [against Salzburg] in my game, and in the team.”

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Picture of Cian Cheesbrough

Cian Cheesbrough

Cian is a sports journalist with experience writing for national titles, including LiveScore, MailOnline, Eurosport and Sky Sports.He has covered a number of key events during his time in the industry, including from the press box at live Champions League fixtures.

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