"A complete turnaround": what did Kane, Mbappé and Yamal offer in their first appearances after the Ballon d'Or ceremony?
Were the trio affected by what happened in London?
Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal drew plenty of eyes this week, just seven days on from the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
The Bayern Munich star took the Ballon d'Or last Monday at a ceremony in London. Mbappé, the Real Madrid striker, finished second, with Barcelona winger Yamal third.
Fans spent the week watching how the top three responded, and whether the ceremony had left any mark on them.
Harry Kane: a poor showing from the Ballon d'Or winner
Two days after the ceremony, Bayern Munich faced Magdeburg in the German Cup. The Bavarians settled it 6-1.
Kane watched the whole match from the substitutes' bench. Vincent Kompany chose to rest his star man after the ceremony.
He returned to the line-up yesterday, Saturday, for the top clash against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
Bayern drew 2-2 with their guests. Kane did not get on the scoresheet, but he teed up his side's second, finished by Upamecano in the 66th minute.
His was an average display. Kane offered little throughout, earning a 6.5 out of 10 from Sofascore.
Kylian Mbappé: a controversial goal and clear brilliance
Real Madrid played once after the ceremony, which left Mbappé bitterly disappointed given his hopes of winning the award.
Today they travelled to Racing Santander in La Liga and won 3-0.
Mbappé opened the scoring from a penalty he won himself. That spot-kick sparked major refereeing controversy, with more than one expert insisting it should never have been given.
He tucked it away regardless, taking his tally to 12 goals in 11 La Liga matches and 15 in 14 across all competitions this season.
Lively against Racing, Mbappé played the full 90 and earned an 8.3 out of 10 from Sofascore. That was the third-best rating in the match, level with Huijsen and behind Arda Güler (8.7) and Bellingham (8.4).
Yamal: a perfect match
Barcelona also played once after the ceremony, hosting Deportivo Alavés yesterday, Saturday, in La Liga. Yamal lit the place up.
On the pitch for 74 minutes, he scored twice, in the 45+1 and the 64th minutes, and laid on a goal for Fermín López in the 23rd. Barcelona ran out 6-1 winners.
Losing the Ballon d'Or race, and indeed finishing third behind Kane and Mbappé, seemed to spur him on. He was sensational.
Sofascore handed the young star a perfect 10 out of 10, a fitting verdict on the level he reached.
So the week flipped everything that happened at the big ceremony on its head.
Yamal, third and stung by it, dazzled and produced a magnificent display. Mbappé, the runner-up, was good but fell short of the teenager's heights.
Then there is Kane. The happiest of the lot, crowned with the Ballon d'Or and living his greatest dream, he failed to turn up in German football's biggest fixture and came away with the lowest rating of the three.
