Returning like a hurricane: Mbappé fires up Mourinho's enthusiasm at Real Madrid
6 minutes are enough
Kylian Mbappé needed just six minutes to open his goalscoring account under José Mourinho. The France star's mere presence sharpens Real Madrid's ferocity and changes everything about the team.
His physical condition looked like a man crying out for the start of the official season and the end of summer, and he found the net in his first and only match of the preparation period.
Pressing with real intensity and moving intelligently, Mbappé pounced on a stray pass from Schlotterbeck, seized on it and got the better of goalkeeper Loris Karius. Not bad for a striker who only began training on Monday and scored his first goal on Sunday.
According to the Spanish newspaper "AS", the tally could have grown. Mbappé broke through again in the eleventh minute and reached the penalty area, but his shot went wide.
A minute later came a clearer chance. He outpaced Katić over 40 metres, proving his physical superiority over every Schalke player on the pitch.
Karius saved his effort, yet the bursts of speed told you all you needed to know about his return from holiday. Mbappé was not content simply to score. He shone as a playmaker too, winning the ball in his own half and threading a precise long pass to Vinícius. Later he surged onto a well-executed ball from Arda Güler and delivered a dangerous cross that Vinícius wasted after it was cleared off the line. Across 45 minutes, the French striker looked uncontrollable.
Mourinho could barely hide his satisfaction with Mbappé and the rest of his players. Smiling after the friendly against Fiorentina, he said: "In the first match with the good players, Real Madrid appeared in their best form."
Those levels reflect a team on the rise in this carefully calculated preparation period, and the credit belongs largely to Mbappé. He gave greater bite to Mourinho's fixed 4-2-3-1, and he helped unlock the brilliance of Arda Güler, who turned in another wonderful display and was rated the best of the summer. The attacking partnership keeps hinting at unlimited potential.
Reports from the training base at Valdebebas had already confirmed the French striker was back in excellent shape. He proved it on the pitch, keeping the goalscoring instinct that carried him to ten goals with France at the World Cup.
Decisive changes of pace and a passion that pays no heed to friendlies marked his afternoon, especially after 42 goals and seven assists last season without a single collective triumph since he arrived.
This stage is a decisive chance to prove himself to everyone, Mbappé most of all. The first spark of a fateful challenge was struck in Gelsenkirchen.
