Kylian Mbappe slammed for being 'slow and lazy' as French media criticizes Real Madrid star

Kylian Mbappe was heavily criticised by the French press after his Real Madrid debut, despite scoring in the 2-0 win. The Whites face Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday – with the 25-year-old making his competitive debut under Carlo Ancelotti.

Federico Valverde opened the scoring at the National Stadium in Warsaw in the 59th minute, following a pass from Vinicius Junior who broke free in a crowded penalty area before crossing to the open midfielder, ready to shoot. Mbappe doubled Real Madrid's lead nine minutes later, collecting a ball from Jude Bellingham in the centre of the box and sending it into the top right corner.

As Real Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday with the victory, French media were highly critical of Mbappe's performance, with some calling him “slow and lazy”. A journalist from RMC Découverte said: “Mbappe was in line with what he did in the last games with France, quite slow and lazy, with the difficulties he has playing as a number 9.” Another journalist from the evening talk show added: “He had the will, he tried to move on the attacking front.”

“Even though he was less inspired, he scored his first goal that will go down in history with Real Madrid,” said a journalist from Canal+ France. “I saw him not being able to connect with his teammates and he has to find those connections. He has to make more movements and they will come.”

“It's a good goal because of the connection with his team-mates. He wasn't brilliant, but he scored in his first game, so he's relieved. Again, for a striker, the most important thing is to score,” he added.

L'Equipe TV said of the Frenchman: “Mbappé scored a good goal and it's a dream to play for Madrid. The coach puts you on the pitch at the first opportunity and you score. It's more important to score in the first match because of the media, rather than having a good match, because Mbappé didn't have a good match.”

In Spain, the press has been much more complimentary about Mbappe's performances at his new club. Football expert Frédéric Hermel said: “He is very intelligent, he knows what he has to do. He knows that Real is a much bigger club than him, and that wasn't necessarily the case when he was at his previous clubs, he has understood that the institution is bigger than all the players.”

“I had imagined it in several ways (that evening) but starting with a title… Just playing for this club, everyone knows what it means to me. It's incredible, the atmosphere was magical. When we say Real Madrid, we say titles, it's very important,” Mbappé told Canal+.

“It's certain that for a player like me, being decisive right away leaves its mark. I'm very happy even if there are always things to improve and I'm aware of that,” he added. Mbappé left a bitter taste in the mouths of PSG fans by choosing to leave the Ligue 1 club this summer.

The Frenchman came through the ranks at AS Monaco before joining the French capital in 2018 for £165million, winning six league titles, four Coup de France titles and three Trophées des Champions. He scored 256 goals in 308 games for the Parisians, before leaving for Real Madrid on a free transfer at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.