The records suit him so well. He feeds on it. Gargle it. And erases them, one after the other, with the regularity of a metronome. This boy is made from a different mold. He writes his story, week after week, in indelible ink. He continues on the lawn, his best theater of expression, his little superman of path.
In November, Kylian Mbappé literally felt himself growing wings under the rooster’s jersey. On November 15, 2021 in his garden at the Parc, he scored a resounding quadruple against Kazakhstan (8-0), 63 years after that of the late Just Fontaine, against the RFA (6-3), during the Coupe du world 1958.
This Saturday, November 18 in Nice, he almost did as well with a hat-trick during the Blues’ crushing victory against Gibraltar (14-0). A penalty converted without blinking to open his counter (30th). The best is yet to come. On the left side, Theo Hernandez delivers a cross from behind, into the penalty area. Completely free of any marking, the captain of the Blues doubles the lead with a strike from the inside of his right foot, at the near post (76th).
As for the 3rd, we almost reach the superb. Ideally alerted by Youssouf Fofana, the Bondynois sees Dayle Coleing very advanced. From a distance, he doesn’t procrastinate and dares to lob with his right foot! Coleing is beaten! Triple! For the record, he also delivered three assists, first to Jonathan Clauss then to Youssouf Fofana and Kingsley Coman. Close the ban. The oldest will not fail to compare this gesture marked with the seal of audacity to that attempted, in vain, at the 1970 World Cup by a certain… Pelé.
“I always wanted to make the history of my sport”
When we know the esteem held by the legend of Santos for Mbappé, dubbed more or less like his heir, the parallel is tempting. For the rest, we remember this mark of 300 goals reached at just 24 years old. “The 300 goals? It takes second place, the team comes first, he will say on the microphone of TF 1. I have always wanted to mark the history of my sport. Some have scored 800 or 850 goals, 300 is ridiculous. The collective has more value than individual records. It’s great, we had the goal of beating this record. We had this seriousness throughout the match. We did it collectively. »
Captain’s words, to fade behind the collective when each of your gestures pushes you to the front. Didier Deschamps is admiring: “Kylian has this collective dimension. In his role as captain, he is perfect too. He brings serenity to the group. »
This Saturday evening, he becomes the first player in history to have reached the 10-goal mark in two calendar years with the Blues (12 in 2022, 10 in 2023). And it’s not over. Definitely, he’s not like the others. He can be gently criticized by Luis Enrique for his meager contribution to PSG’s defensive work after his hat-trick against Reims. He listens, accepts the remark and leaves again. Certainly the disgruntled spirits, its rare detractors, will not fail to recall the notable weakness of a Gibraltar team quickly falling into numerical inferiority. But we must not be struck by amnesia. On December 18, 2022, the same player scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final.
