You can tell Kylian Mbappe is a decent player watching from afar — but nothing compares to witnessing his magic up close.
Real Madrid’s latest galactico is already off the mark, having scored in Wednesday’s 2-0 UEFA Super Cup victory over Atalanta. His La Liga debut for the Spanish champions comes later today, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side at Mallorca’s Son Moix.
Here, our writers reflect on their best memories of watching Mbappe in the flesh before the start of a new campaign sure to bring plenty more ‘wow’ moments from his new stage in Spain.
I will never forget the first time I saw Kylian Mbappe play live. It was for Paris Saint-Germain against Real Madrid on March 9, 2022, at the Santiago Bernabeu, in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. There were reports that he was joining Madrid in a few months — and images of him in training at the Bernabeu the day before had caused a stir. But when the game started, he showed he was only thinking about winning this match.
He found the net early, but it was ruled out for offside. In the 39th minute, he did score, putting PSG 2-0 up on aggregate, and it was the least his performance deserved. His superiority was mesmerising. It looked like Mbappe was going to sink Madrid.
Mbappe tricked his way past Courtois – but again was denied by an offside flag (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
After the break, Mbappe had another goal disallowed. It didn’t count, but it’s the action I remember most from this match.
In the 54th minute, he was left alone in front of Thibaut Courtois and performed the most remarkable piece of skill to shimmy past him, without touching the ball, as if he had an amateur goalkeeper in front of him instead of the best in the world. There we thought we saw the image of Ronaldo Nazario. In the press areas, I always try to be very calm and professional, but with Mbappe’s trick, I accidentally let out an “ooooh, god!”
After his goal in the first leg, and his goal and two disallowed efforts in the second leg, he still somehow ended up on the losing side. It says a lot that even with the competing memory of Karim Benzema’s hat-trick — which led to one of the most epic nights in Madrid’s Champions League history — Mbappe’s display still stands out.
Mario Cortegana
Travelling at the speed of Messi
Mbappe had countless moments of brilliance at the Parc des Princes. I distinctly recall PSG’s 3-1 win over Lens in August 2023, when Mbappe opened the scoring with a shot on the turn in the box that was so quick it caught everyone off guard. He set up Lionel Messi with a sumptuous backheel for the third goal, completing a special one-two. It was two greats combining, playing football on another plane.
That Mbappe could play on Messi’s wavelength says enough, but to get a sense of what the Mbappe show was like in France, you have to travel away from home.
The week after the Lens game, PSG headed to Angers. The hosts were struggling at the foot of the table, while PSG were marching to the title. The match was a foregone conclusion but it was still the big game. There were inspections outside the ground hunting for PSG merchandise at the turnstiles of the home end. The PSG squad were cheered during their warm-up and the stands were pockmarked with banners and placards expressing admiration or requesting a shirt.
Mbappe was the king of all of this, unsurprisingly so as the star player of France, now captain.
Mbappe celebrates his goal at Angers (Jean-Francois Monier/AFP via Getty Images)
During the first half, he went over to take a corner in front of a pocket of Angers home supporters and raised his arms to the crowd, to get them going. They all responded. This was the home support — they were meant to be backing Angers.
They were here for the spectacle too, though, and Mbappe rose to the occasion, as he usually does, scoring twice — with both goals involving Messi, who was completely unplayable that day. Mbappe’s first was a scruffy finish but the second was trademark — sprinting clear of the back line almost inexplicably before rounding the goalkeeper to score.
It is his quickness that sets him apart. Television pictures can be misleading, they can make the green expanse of the pitch feel overwhelmingly huge. It’s only in person that you can appreciate just how little room there is on the field to be exceptional — to be that much sharper than everyone else, especially against teams who sit deep and condense space. Mbappe always finds it, he will always burst into it, and when it is not there he can always steal a half-yard to score, just as he did against Lens.
Peter Rutzler
A World Cup final hat-trick
It has gone down in history as Messi’s final, the crowning glory of a truly extraordinary career, but there was a moment when the great Argentine appeared shell-shocked, looking up at the big screen in disbelief and trying to come to terms with what had just happened.
Mbappe, largely anonymous for the first 80 minutes of the 2022 World Cup final, had come to life and almost single-handedly wrestled control away from Messi and Argentina. A penalty had reduced France’s deficit to 2-1. Next came Mbappe’s masterpiece: a headed lay-off to Marcus Thuram and then, as the ball dropped onto his right foot, a perfectly struck volley to make it 2-2. “Mbappe, oh wow!” yelled commentator Peter Drury. “He is an awesome force of nature. Brutal and brilliant.”
Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final (Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)
One man had transformed the mood inside Lusail Stadium. In stoppage time, Mbappe set off from the left wing, sped away from Enzo Fernandez and hit a rising shot that was deflected over the crossbar — a near-miss that strengthened the feeling that this extraordinary force of nature, Hurricane Mbappe, would not be denied.
Messi scored again in extra time, but so did Mbappe, another penalty, to become the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in 1966. For a time, it had ceased to feel like the Messi final.
It came down to a penalty shootout. Mbappe scored his, but Messi and Argentina prevailed and the narrative shifted once more. Messi would later call the performance of his PSG team-mate “something crazy”. It really was.
Oliver Kay
The very centre of attention
It’s very unusual for a Champions League knockout game to be all about one player — but Mbappe dominated everything on and off the pitch when PSG played at Real Sociedad in last March’s Champions League last-16 second leg.
As reporters arrived in the press room at Anoeta that afternoon, there was huge expectation at seeing him live, mixed with the fear from local pundits who had seen Mbappe punish La Real in the first leg in Paris a few weeks earlier.
Before kick-off, the home fans’ nerves were clear from the whistles when Mbappe’s name was read out. When the game began, every time he got the ball, you could physically feel the change in atmosphere.
When he opened the scoring after just 15 minutes, tricking defender Igor Zubeldia and curling a shot past ‘keeper Alex Remiro, there was first silence, then murmurs of appreciation from those watching up above.
Mbappe’s PSG eventually lost to Borussia Dortmund in last season’s Champions League (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“He only needs half a metre, then he can put the ball wherever he wants,” said a hugely impressed Jorge Valdano, a former Real Madrid player and manager, in his commentary position for Spanish broadcaster Movistar TV.
On the train back to Madrid the next day, Mbappe’s supreme ability was the only topic of conversation. Even reporters used to seeing Bernabeu galacticos in action had been hugely impressed — especially those trying to get confirmation that he would finally be joining Madrid.
Dermot Corrigan
(Top photos: Getty Images)
