Register now for Free Trial access
(check your email to confirm registration)
Kylian Mbappe tricked his way between two Real Madrid defenders to score Paris Saint-Germain’s stoppage-time gamewinner after receiving Neymar‘s back-heel pass wide of penalty area. PSG’s 1-0 victory in the round of 16, first-leg clash in Paris included an unsuccessful penalty kick by Lionel Messi.
No comments
Already have an account? Sign In.
Unlock immediate access to every story, exclusive newsletters like Soccer America Daily and Soccer on TV, comments and complete archives.
Or continue reading this article for free
Register now
Never seen this Version of Real Madrid “Park The Bus” liked that, since Mourinho… Pretty Disgusting, and We Deserved to Lose.!!!
Mbappe looks to be the Real Deal… I especially liked his First Touch Control at FULL Speed on the 1-2 Combinations.
The Pinnacle of “Turbo” Player
ViniJr-Haaland-Mbappe… Next Year at Madrid.???
We won’t need a Defense and we can keep our Old Midfield, and Weak Right side of Defense.
Interesting; Messi, shadow of his Past… “Missed” a PK
Who would have imagined subs OFF the Bench; Hazard, Bale, Neymar.!?!?!?
All did basically ZERO…. Except for Neymar 20yard Back-Heel, to set up Mbappe Slalom run thru the Madrid Defense… But, just that one Piece of Creativity by Neymar broke the Back of the Madrid Defense….
I have always said; it is Easier to Dribble Past 2 Side-by-Side Defenders than One… “You got Him.???… No, I thought you got him”
Gone by you both Already.!!!
This goal could have been made by any nitwit who is a half decent soccer player. This is the easiest way of beating two defenders because neither will tackle him for they are so close together so it is a question of waiting for that little gap to jump through.
…Defenders should never square up or position square to each other. This is why if you take if you take it a step further, I don’t like the square positioning of centerbacks, I prefer a libero behind the centerfullback for back support…Just like in this case, one defender should force him to go left and the defender to catch him…
Bingo Frank… I wish USA Coach would be “Original” and bring back a Sweeper…. He did it for One Game, When he Used Sands as Libero versus Martinique last Summer… But he has Never Tried It Since…. Even Saachi “The Inventor” of Zonal Defense at AC Milan, Never actually Played “Flat Back Four”
Frank, I get that you can be critical, but this is ridiculous. No, that goal could not have been made by “any nitwit who is a half decent soccer player.” He beat two professionals on one of best teams in the world when they knew he was going to try to dribble past them, and then he beat a world class keeper. In the last seconds of a game. If you can’t appreciate that, then you must not find much joy in life. Mbappe has pace, sure (which I’m sure was part of the reason he could beat the defenders, as I’d guess they thought he was going to try to beat them with pace to the endline). But he has an excellent touch, is very deceptive, and finishes with the best of them. He’s an excellent player, this was an excellent goal.
Kent, Any of these players on the field could have done it for it is a simple move and it is made more easier because of the 2 defenders, they hamper each other not supplement each other…
This is an easy move ,this is what you want as an attacker, 2defenders almost next to each other…I’ve done this move myself ,it is no big deal…. I’ve seen this move happen at many levels of soccer. You and I were differed in playing, I was an all and all attacker, love beating people more than I enjoy scoring a goal.
The only thing I thought that had any difficulty was the angle of the shot…
You talk about world class players/defenders, well world class don’t get themselves in a situation whereby Mbappe can go right through the gap they left…
santi , I have no idea why teams play with centerbacks…it stupid and inefficient. It is just as stupid as a goalie with the ball standing on the 6yard line it with both centerback standing almost next to him on either side….STUPID!!!
Going through two defenders by a quality attacker is easier than 1v1. Neither one of them challenged Mbappe and he took advantage of splitting by them.
Frank and Santi, I mostly played defense in a traditional 4 person backline (sweeper/stopper), then transitioned to centerback in a modern flat four defense (as my teammates got younger and wanted to do that). So I appreciate (even love), old school defending. For many years I have tried to see the advantage of the modern defense, where you concede the wings, have two lines of defense (defenders and the midfield) in front of the goal and focus on ball-oriented defense (attacking the person with the ball with multiple defenders). My kids (soccer players of another generation) chide me for my preference for old school defending, as I suggest that such a defense might still be able to work (their argument was always if it did work, the good teams would use it successfully; my counterargument is if what the teams did always worked best, nothing would ever change).
My first thought was that the modern players (like Messi) are too good 1 v 1 to rely on that defense, so you have to provide more defensive support. The example of Mbappe in the clip suggests this; if Mbappe were 1 v. 1 on the outside back (without his inside help), he would probably go around him to the endline, beating him with his pace. Since he had help, the defender could overplay the outside; so Mbappe went inside, with a quick move. And yes, Frank a lot of people can make that move (I can), but not a lot of people can make that move at the appropriate point in the game under the pressure of competition. The inside defender should have played better defense, but I”m guessing he did not want to risk causing a penalty (in retrospect, a decision he probably regrets). Scoring a winning goal in the last 15 seconds of a game with an intellegent tactical decision and a nifty move and nice finish deserves the accolades people are giving it. That’s what makes it a beautiful game.
Now back to the traditional man marking v modern defense question. I’ve always thought the modern version allows too much space on the flanks (for people to send crosses in, though the box is often crowded), and the flat four seems susceptible to through passes into space (which a traditional sweeper would deny); it also relies on all 4 backs having enough speed not to get burned by their attackers. I get frustrated when very good offensive teams (Barcelona) seem to play into the teeth of these defenses trying to go 2 v 6 with short passes, rather than the through ball or crosses. The USMNT has had the same problem breaking down these defenses. So I’m surprised the modern defensive schemes work as well as they do, and feel like if teams were smarter offensively, they’d do better job exploiting the weakness.
Traditional man markers play tighter defense, because they know they have no help (at least until they are beaten). When 2 or 3 players attack the ball in the modern game, they sometimes are less aggressive because they think their teammates will be the most aggressive (and they may be trying to block passing lanes instead of actually taking the ball).
Bottom line is I’d like professionals to be able to play both types of defenses, depending on the circumstances, because I’m not sure the modern defense works best in all circumstances. But given the decline in scoring, I have to admit that it seems to be pretty effective. And the RM v PSG game was going to be proof of that until Mbappe’s goal. Sometimes individual brilliance can overcome cynical (but effective) tactics…
Kent, First of all, defense can be played zonal and man to man. The problem we have with flatback is that it is seen as a unit. Well, sooner or later that unit comes down to 1v1, there is no other way, to cut it. At Ajax the youth are first taught man to man defense for it teaches you to first think how to solve the problem yourself vis a vis the opponent, what he can and can’t do and to counter it yourself. Also when Cruyff coached Ajax, in the 80’s he made sure to NOT play with a libero in the youth ,for he wanted the youth to play 1v1 in the back without the help of libero for support, in order to learn how to survive, first.
You start from the individual than as a group as far as player development . Your sons ,sorry to say, will not have learned the real basic nature of individual defense for they are learning to play defense that relies more on group thought, which initself is fine but they are missing the most important aspect, the individual defense. Great defenders are not known for being a good group defender but as an individual defender for that is what defense is all about in the end. The conversation about a defender is always credited as, “Great job how he stopped the attacker, never as a unit itself. I would say your sons need to listen to their Old Man!!!! As far as flatback goes, the English have played nothing but that, for they have never played with a libero. Tell your kids, that flatback is really ‘old school’ for the English have always played it and it was on the Continent and every where else they played with a libero.
Have you noticed how lacking the individual defense is today in the pros. Have seen how often a goal is scored and the backline all ran back in a straight standing in front of a goal and see about 3 opponents wide open not covered for the secondary balls. And so often I see goals scored where the defense outnumbered the opponent attackers in or around the penalty area, 6v2 or 6v3 excluding the goalie even.
NEXT POST
Your sons thinking todays defense, the modern so to speak, hasn’t really done much to stop players such as Lewandowski, Messi ,Ronaldo,etc who are tallying up the goals out there, because good individual players will always score for they don’t have the whole ‘group’ backline on them and they rely upon their teammates to help out to open spaces , create 2v1 or draw the defense. So in the end those types of players are left in the end 1v1, it’s that simple and besides they have it easier because the defenders today are weaker man to man…BINGO!!! So , so much for the NEW SCHOOL!!!
The reason I don’t like square defense, or flatback is that it leaves a lot of vulnerability between the defenders. Have you ever seen two defenders position square on a throw-in ,or when two defenders position square in front of you and you split a pass between them, or remember when the midfielders were positioned square causing one pass to beat 4midfielders, as a result this why midfield tend to play in a diamond shape. SO WHY WOULD ANYONE PLAY WITH 2 SQUARE CENTERBACKS, when you realize that they are in the most vulnerable position, closest to the goal without backsupport. I don’t get it. Don’t play square ANYWHERE!!…..there needs to be backup support, especially in front of goal
In my older days I moved back from playing centerforward and wing to sweeper, which I thought was boring to play. I only began playing libero because my men’s team was missing something, attacking wise do to the mix of the players up front and I still can’t figure what it exactly was. That to me I find interesting, the’ Why’s’ . Like Cruyff states, ” those who watch a game miss 90% of the deeper insights of what’s going on and only see what’s happening, not the Why’s.
I had the best time playing libero, for it all came down to ‘prep’, thinking ahead, reading the game. In other words, as we went on attack I made sure and set up my backfield and weakside midfielders to take position vis a vis their opponent, just in case. In other words, I didn’t play much defense and I could handle a ball in case opponent came at me…It is all about reading back and preparing back there…
Kent, you proved my point when I say ,any ‘nitwit’ can do what Mbappe did when you ,yourself, stated can do what he did. Not that you’re a nitwit but that anyone with half-decent skills. can do what he did…I’ve seen this move tried in youth soccer and it’s often seen in the pros,it’s no big deal!! I talk like that , nothing personal, but that’s how guys ,well in least my days, in the soccer lockerroom talk…Maybe today, we’ve gotten too touchie, feelie…
What Mbappe did, he had to do for there was only 15seconds. Here was his choice, if he decided to play 1v1 trying to outrun, hold on to the ball, make a “b” line around the defenders , causing more time to run off, or go directly through the gap caused by the lousy positioning of the two defenders. Which would you choose? They didn’t pressure him, they waited for him to make the move. And, yes, he could have failed in his attempt which can happen ,that’s the roll of the dice. He was succesfull, other times perhaps not.. But as a player you don’t think about failing,especially when there was no time left and you gotta do what you gotta do……..