In the 2-0 win over Le Havre in round 14 of Ligue 1, coach Luis Enrique for the first time arranged Kylian Mbappe as a center forward in PSG’s 4-3-3 formation. Being a conservative person and preferring to use a wide striker, why did the Spanish coach change the way he uses the French star?
What is Lucho thinking? For the first time since leading PSG, coach Enrique let Mbappe play as the highest spearhead in the home team’s attack in the familiar 4-3-3 formation. Is this the desire to build a team around the French star, or the intention to “encourage” the players who play in this position but are on the bench? Will the Spanish military leader use Mbappe for the number 9 role in the future?
Mbappe used to play number 9 very well
When Edinson Cavani left, coaches Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettno were very successful in exploiting Mbappe as a center forward. In the first two seasons playing as No. 9, Mbappe scored and assisted very impressively. Specifically, in the 2020/21 season, in addition to being top scorer with 27 goals, he also had 7 assists in Ligue 1. In the 2021/22 season, he won a double title including top scorer (28 goals). ) and King of assists (17 phases).
When coach Christophe Galtier used him in the number 9 role, Mbappe was stuck between Neymar and Leo Messi so he felt uncomfortable, and at the same time he wanted to be on the wing like in the French team. At Le Havre last weekend, coach Enrique placed him in the starting center position, with support from Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola.
However, this time did not last long, only about 10 minutes because Barcola had to make room for reserve goalkeeper Arnau Tenas, after Gianluigi Donnarumma was sent off (10th minute). After PSG played without players, Lucho was forced to adjust tactics with a false number 9 – Mbappe.
However, the French star is still often the highest player in the PSG attack. And above all, this is not the first time Lucho has deployed this tactic. In the match against Newcastle 5 days earlier (1-1 draw), PSG’s attack was also arranged in a similar way, from the 62nd minute with Barcola being brought on to replace Randal Kolo Muani until the 82nd minute, when Marco Asensio replaces Lee Kang-in.
In this diagram, Mbappe seems to benefit more from freedom of movement. Sometimes starting from the right wing and making two very good passes for Barcola to finish unsuccessfully in the Champions League. Sometimes in the middle and receiving great support from Dembele at Océane Stadium. And sometimes from the left in the victory over Le Have itself.
Mbappe is closer to the penalty area when playing as a center forward
In the role of a number 9, Mbappe will get closer to the penalty area. Against Le Havre, when PSG played with only 10 people, he touched the ball 7 times in the penalty area, 2 more times than the match against Monaco (5-2) in round 13, where he was basically ” framed” in the left hallway. In the match against Newcastle, out of 16 touches of the ball in the penalty area, 4 occurred in the 20 minutes Mbappe played as a striker.
Furthermore, Mbappe is increasingly compatible with Dembele, both on the field and in the dressing room. Their bond seemed to improve with each round. At Le Havre, Mbappe opened the scoring after combining with Lee Kang-in and Dembele, with the former Barca player being the creator.
If Mbappe successfully finishes from Dembele’s other two clearings and vice versa, Dembele also scores twice when Mbappe passes as ordered to him, then the duo can put their stamp on 5 goals for PSG in this match. Both play very well and are becoming very dangerous weapons for the home team at Parc des Princes.
However, if he wants to turn Mbappe into the new number 9, why did Enrique spend nearly 170 million euros to recruit Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos? Expert Benoit Cheyrou commented: “Luis Enrique likes to use wide attacking players to stretch the opponent’s defense, with a formation that looks like 3-3-4. I think he would also like to play with nine and a half like he did with Lee Kang-in against Reims.
No matter which number 9, Ramos or Kolo Muani, Lucho wants his striker to cut into column 1 to create space in column 2 for Mbappe to run in from the right wing. Ultimately, I don’t think putting Mbappe and Dembele together will change things. Because this duo has been looking for each other a lot on the field,” Cheyrou analyzed.
Mbappe is best suited to play as a striker at PSG right now
Meanwhile, former PSG midfielder Jerome Rothen believes that Mbappe should play center forward. Because of this, you will maximize your abilities. “In any case, Kylian Mbappe must start as a center forward. He can then freely move right or left. When arranged on the left wing, Kylian tends to receive the ball in a too fixed position.
Then he didn’t have the impact he could have had on PSG’s play. On the other hand, as a centre-forward, I find it easier for Kylian to find space, and it’s harder for defenders to read his play and calls.