Two goals and two assists made Kylian Mbappé the top scorer at the 2021 UEFA Nations League finals and ended mutterings about the Paris Saint-Germain forward's form in front of goal.
Without a club goal in his last six outings and having only scored once in 11 France caps coming into the finals in northern Italy, the former Monaco attacker's general menace wasn't being matched by the goals column.
That all changed against Belgium in the Nations League semi-finals in Turin as Mbappé put in a display that earned him the Player of the Match award and scored the equaliser from the penalty spot in a 3-2 France victory as the world champions recovered from 2-0 down. It took great nerve to finish from 12 yards in emphatic style given Mbappé had missed the vital penalty in the shootout defeat to Switzerland in the Round of 16 of UEFA EURO 2020.
Half-century up!
Mbappé, 22, had earlier provided an assist for Karim Benzema to mark his 50th cap, a match he went into under immense scrutiny following his wide-ranging interviews with L'Equipe and RMC Sport.
Speaking after the semi-final, Mbappé commented: "It was a crazy match. It's good as it gives confidence to the team and the coaching staff. Now there's a final to play and we have to win it. If you do all of that and you don't win then it's frustrating. I love playing in pressure matches, matches everyone watches and everyone wants to play in. I've got 50 caps now and time passes quickly. I hope I'll have a lot more caps and we win a lot more trophies."
Ballon d'Or nomination, assists and the 'MNM'
Mbappé was to the fore in another French comeback as Les Bleus recovered from conceding the opening goal to Spain in the final to win 2-1 with Mbappé netting a cool winner having earlier missed a couple of chances. Four-and-a-half years on from his first start for his country - coincidentally against Spain in a 2-0 friendly loss at Stade de France in March 2017 - Mbappé netted his 19th international goal.
It completed a triumphant week that also saw Mbappé nominated for the Ballon d'Or, an award he will surely claim several times in his career, having finished seventh, fourth and sixth in the last three editions. A world champion and a Nations League winner, Mbappé's club achievements are staggering: he's won four Ligue 1 Uber Eats titles and has been the top scorer in the division in each of the last three seasons.
Assists and the 'MNM'
Into the final year of his Paris Saint-Germain contract, having joined from Monaco in 2017, Mbappé was named Ligue 1 player of the year in both 2019 and 2021. Having been part of a triumphant attacking trio in northern Italy with France, he'll return to club duty looking to hone his understanding with Neymar and Lionel Messi - the other two elements of the 'MNM' - once the Brazilian and the Argentinean return from international duty.
The signs from Mbappé's France performances are ominous for Angers, who come to the Parc des Princes on Friday, and all of PSG's future opponents domestically and in the UEFA Champions League. Not only is Mbappé hungry for goals, his team play is coming on in leaps and bounds as evidenced by his brace of Nations League assists. That can only spell good news for Mauricio Pochettino and PSG.
