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Former France left-back Bixente Lizarazu has claimed that Kylian Mbappe has lost a bit of his explosiveness lately. After being linked with Real Madrid in recent years, he finally completed a free transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer.
However, Mbappe's move has yet to pay dividends for his new club. Tipped by many as Karim Benzema's replacement at Madrid, he failed to score in his opening three league matches this season.
Mbappe broke his LaLiga drought in gameweek 4, when he netted both of his team's goals in a 2-0 win over Real Betis on September 2. He also scored in Madrid's 2-0 UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta.
However, Mbappe has been widely criticized for his slow start to life in Spain's capital city, especially before his brace against Betis. Lizarazu believes that although the 25-year-old remains an elite scorer, he no longer instills the same fear in defenders as he once did.
The 1998 World Cup winner, who racked up 97 caps for France, wrote in his L'Equipe column (via GOAL):
"You can't be insensitive to the feelings of the French team's supporters, to the frustrations they may have, to the questions they may have. You have to try to answer them, give them hope, it's part of the job and the emotional connection you have to have with your fans.
"Perhaps he is less serene than usual, more tense because he is slow to find the best footballing version of himself. Mbappe is no longer as explosive or decisive as he was. He remains a very good scorer, a very good player of course, but he is no longer scary as before."
Before his move to Real Madrid, Mbappe scored at a stunning rate for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), racking up 256 goals and 108 assists in 308 games.
Carlo Ancelotti says it is 'important' for Kylian Mbappe to score for Real Madrid
While Real Madrid didn't spend a single penny in transfer fees, they agreed to pay Kylian Mbappe €150 million in signing-on fee to make the transfer happen (via ESPN). Given the investment and the player's reputation, fans expect the 2018 World Cup winner to be among the goals on a weekly basis.
However, that hasn't happened so far. Mbappe's shoulders would have felt much lighter when he netted against Real Betis, with his second strike coming from a penalty after Vinicius Jr. let him take the spot-kick.
Carlo Ancelotti would have been relieved to an extent as well. Speaking about the importance of the former AS Monaco forward getting on the scoresheet, the Italian manager said after the match (via ManagingMadrid):
"We have never put pressure on him [on how much the brace meant to Kylian Mbappe]. He played a good game, like everyone else, he had many opportunities. It’s important for him to score."
During the ongoing international break, Mbappe wore the captain's armband for the full 90 minutes in France's 3-1 UEFA Nations League group-stage loss against Italy on September 6.
