A season in levitation. Kylian Mbappé escapes Newton’s law like defenders, he does not know the law of gravity. Aerial, he flew over the 2021-2022 financial year and it was no surprise that he was named, Sunday, May 15, best player in Ligue 1. On the ground, the impression of power and speed strikes the retina . The figures, often so cold, only reinforce this visual sensation of vertigo. Back to statistics on the year of grace 2022 of the child prodigy of French football.
Revealed in the princely finery of Monaco, the jewel has continued to polish itself and increase in value. Leaving the Monegasque setting that had suddenly become too narrow for his brilliance, Mbappé continued to weigh ever more heavily on his team’s game. From his first appearances in the jersey of ASM to the statistical peak of this season with PSG, the native of Bondy presents an almost constant line of progression, for the goals scored as well as for the assists delivered.
If, since his first accelerations on the lawns of Ligue 1, Kylian Mbappé had hinted at a real address in front of goal, it was in the area of the last pass that he made his most significant progress. The Parisian has clearly expanded his game, being extremely altruistic for a number 9, while keeping his cool in front of the goalkeepers. A real challenge when you know the requirements of the position. His 17 assists this season, a staggering figure worthy of the best midfielders in the world, testify to this.
One might argue that it’s always easier to inflate that stat when you have players like Lionel Messi or Neymar on your side. In fact, the two South Americans, often out of form or injured, did not tip the scales excessively. It’s almost scary to think of the tally of goals and assists the Frenchman would have achieved with his two partners playing at their best.
After two decades marked by the imprint of Messi and Ronaldo, two unclassifiable, hybrid and iconoclastic players, it would seem that modern football is giving back its pride of place to complete attackers, capable of scoring while weighing on the game. The famous “foxes of the surfaces” were chased out of the henhouse. The Mbappé, Benzema or Salah now reign supreme in the barnyard.
The only notable exceptions among the most decisive players in the five major leagues, the anachronistic Ciro Immobile and Robert Lewandowski can currently only boast one and three assists respectively in the season. With a much more balanced ratio (25 goals for 17 assists), Mbappé has proven to be the most decisive player in these five championships. Could Ligue 1 not crown it? Sometimes a vote is simple. This was guided by the evidence of art.