“You go 2, 3 matches without goals, they’ll k**l you” - Karim Benzema tells Kylian Mbappe what he must do to win support at Real Madrid
Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema has warned Kylian Mbappe about the perils of playing for Los Blancos. The former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu as a free agent this summer.
Mbappe's arrival was expected to help the LaLiga giants hit a higher gear this season. While the player hasn't entirely lived up to the hype, he has still registered eight goals and two assists from 14 games.
Speaking on El Chiringuito TV, Benzema insisted that his countryman must learn to deal with the pressure at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“Mbappe knows that there is a lot of pressure at Real Madrid. At Madrid, you go two, three matches without goals, they’ll k*ll you. You can win the Ballon d’Or and you don’t score in three matches after it, the same," said Benzema.
He continued:
"I think he has to learn to live with this. He has to put on a good impression in matches. Every match is a new one, and he has to score goals because they brought him to score goals only.”
Kylian Mbappe was particularly disappointing against Barcelona in the El Clasico last month. The French superstar appeared to score the opening goal in the game only for it to be chalked out by VAR for offside.
The 25-year-old couldn't find an answer to the Catalans' offside trap as Real Madrid lost the game 4-0.
Is Kylian Mbappe struggling due to a switch in position at Real Madrid?
Kylian Mbappe emerged as one of the premier strikers in the world at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He finished his reign with the Ligue 1 champions with 256 goals and 108 assists from 308 games.
Since arriving at Real Madrid, however, the French superstar had had to alter his game. With Vinicius Junior operating in the left-forward role, Kylian Mbappe has been playing through the middle for Los Blancos.
The French forward prefers to operate from the left, so the position change may have affected his natural game. Carlo Ancelotti has failed to modify his tactics to get the best out of the player so far.
Meanwhile, the team hasn't been firing on all cylinders this season either, with the likes of Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo struggling so far. Real Madrid have scored 21 goals in 11 games in LaLiga so far. Their bitter rivals Barcelona, meanwhile, have 40 goals in 12 games and are leading the league table by nine points.