How to stop Mbappe?

* Bayern - PSG: 3am on Thursday, 9/3, Hanoi time.

"Blocking Mbappe completely is a test with almost no solution," commented British newspaper The Athletic

The French striker was only fit to play for about 30 minutes in the first leg against Bayern at the Parc des Princes, due to having just recovered from a thigh injury. But in his short time on the field, he is PSG's most dangerous player. In the second leg tonight, March 8, Mbappe will start and find a way to deal more damage to "Gray Lobster".

When he is closely followed Mbappe, he will turn the opponent to dizzy. If the defender keeps his distance, he will use every space possible to do something. And if the opponent sends two players with Mbappe, it also means they leave more space for Lionel Messi to operate.

Mbappe is only 24 years old, but has won many trophies that the players covet, but the Champions League still eludes the striker. "The Champions League is important to me," he told UEFA in 2021. "We have been eliminated at various stages, and suffered bitterly. I will be very emotional if I win this tournament. The World Cup to me is the Holy Grail, but at the club level it is nothing more than the Champions League. As the lyrics of the tournament, this arena is for the strongest teams."

Mbappe's failure to succeed in the Champions League is not due to a lack of effort. He has scored 40 goals in 60 matches in the tournament, just eight goals compared to the Top 10 all-time scorers in the Champions League or C1 Cup before.

So is there a way to stop Mbappe?

The first is the change in Mbappe's shooting style over time. He has a tendency to drift left, dribble in and finish, since his start. But in the last two seasons, Mbappe's preferred finishing area has been clearly shaped.

But knowing where Mbappe shoots is one thing, predicting how he will shoot is a more complicated matter.

One of Mbappe's usual shooting tips is about the near corner, like the goal against Poland in the round of 1/8 World Cup 2022. Receiving the ball from Ousmane Dembele, Mbappe extended his body as if to aim for the far corner. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny also prepares to roll in that direction. However, Mbappe shot to the high corner of the near column and did not spin much, instead of cutting his heart to the far corner. Both the defender and the Polish goalkeeper were fooled.

This is not the first time Mbappe has shot like this, as he has scored similar goals against Galatasaray in the 2019-2020 season, Bayern Munich 2020-2021, Leipzig and Real Madrid 2021-2022. All four goals have the same style of kicking to the far corner (blue arrow), to kicking to the near corner (white arrow).

If one knows this trick of Mbappe, can the defender be close to the corner? The answer is no. Because if the space in the far corner opens, Mbappe can shoot in that direction with high accuracy, like the match against Barca in the 2020-2021 season, or Maccabi Haifa and Juventus this season.

"When it comes to high-class players playing with their feet, defenders need to take the initiative," said former Premier League defender Danny Higginbotham. "The defender needs to anticipate that the attacker will turn the ball in, so he will lure the opponent to send the ball to his non-dominant foot. But if the opponent is too good, he will simply take advantage of that space."

Higginbotham used to play for Man Utd, and he thinks Mbappe is one of them. "Mbappé's body movement, intelligence and speed are so good that it is he who decides in which direction the ball will go," he said.

When it comes to players of such class, the line between success and failure is often thin. Higginbotham has faced such a player, which is Cristiano Ronaldo in his early days with Man Utd. If Ronaldo has the ball from a distance, the defender allows opponents to turn into the center because the midfielders will be waiting to fight for the ball. "But at a distance of more than 20 meters, I had to find a way to push Ronaldo to the left foot," added Higginbotham. "Because if Ronaldo has the ball with his right foot, he can shoot or create. It's important that the defender knows who the opponent is."

Mbappe's goal against Leipzig and Real is also an example of this striker's ability when the two teams switch states. His speed is enough to make the opponent dizzy and destabilize the defense. Mbappe's maximum sprint speed in the group stage is 35.6 km / h, only 1 km / h behind the leader Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea).

However, Mbappe does better when running and dribbling the ball. His favorite area to break through is the inner left margin.

To silence Mbappe, Higginbotham thinks that Bayern needs a collective effort. The right-back needs to know what the right-back, right-midfielder or central midfielder is doing to stop the PSG striker. Defenders need support from the front line to cut the pass to Mbappe, or cover. Otherwise, the defender may have to fight Mbappe alone. "If one-on-one, Mbappe will do better than the opponent in nine out of 10 situations," he said.

At the highest level, small details can make a big difference. If the distance and time to stop Mbappe are shortened, the defender will be in trouble. Higginbotham says defenders must know Mbappe as soon as he receives the ball, to ensure the striker's first touch is with his back to goal. "But if you come in too quickly, Mbappe can smack the ball behind the defender and turn around with speed," said the mature defender at Man Utd. "Then the other defensive players need to appear in the back to cover."

Despite having top-notch attacking players, PSG has a weakness in defence. Reims club captain Yunis Abdelhamid once said that getting the ball past PSG's long-range defense was "very easy", after a 1-1 draw in January 2023. "We understood that as long as we put the ball through the PSG striker, they won't be involved in defense anymore. These stars don't support the defense, so we create many opportunities," said Abdelhamid.

Mbappe did not tackle a single time in the Champions League group stage. Of course that is not his main task, but if the PSG strikers defend with more enthusiasm, they will control the ball better and thereby create opportunities. Mbappe has the privilege of not having to defend, because of his top-notch attacking ability.

"Mbappe does not need to be involved in every match situation," coach Mauricio Pochettino said. "He can just play five to 10 minutes, not get into any situation. But just one attacking moment, he comes in and does something great to help the team win."

Mbappe's ability to turn the game around is terrifying, because 25 of his 40 goals in the Champions League have come from one-touch finishes. Against Juventus in Paris this season, Mbappe received the ball in a position that did not look dangerous. The away team's defense was also well set up when he passed the ball to Neymar. But with just two touches and four seconds, Mbappe scored.

"Players like that are amazing because they turn the game around in a moment," said Higginbotham. "Sometimes we feel like we've done well against an opponent like that, but then he still scores. Those moments usually come at the end of the game, because then we're mentally and physically exhausted. There, the quality of the attacking player is shown."

In this season's Champions League, Mbappe's position to receive the ball is more confusing for opponents than ever. He plays higher and drifts more wide to stretch the opponent's defense when receiving the ball.

What will the full-back have to do in this case? If the risk goes up to support the attack, the defender will pay the price. Mbappe will find a way to pin the defender in the home half. According to Higginbotham, if the defender is sure to receive the ball, or the home team does not lose the ball, they are allowed to advance. "I'm not the type of defender who prefers to attack, so I only go high when I know my teammates will pass it to me."

Fighting Mbappe is like a 90-minute psychological game, which the French striker usually wins. Only in the top five leagues, no player has received as many progressive passes as Mbappe. Attacking passes are passes that bring the ball closer to the opponent's goal by about 9 meters or more, or pass into the penalty area, excluding those in the first 40% of the field. In other words, Mbappe gets the most balls in areas that can damage opponents.

Bayern used a defense of three centre-backs in their 1–0 first leg win at the Parc des Princes, allowing Joao Cancelo to move higher on the right flank when in possession. Coach Julian Nagelsmann will likely find a way to close the space of the home team without the ball, and focus on attacking PSG's left wing when in possession.

In short, the task to stop Mbappe is to defend with enough numbers, calculate the distance and reasonable time to close the striker, and avoid letting the defense rise too high.

In contrast, Bayern can exploit the left wing of PSG when Mbappe is not on defensive duties, although coach Christophe Galtier probably knows how to cover the striker.

In theory, stopping Mbappe seems simple. But whichever team does that, they can throw a party to celebrate.