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Every time Kylian Mbappe takes the field, donning the Real Madrid colours, the expectations skyrocket. And having been in a similar situation in the past, former England and Real Madrid superstar Michael Owen understands what it takes to deliver under pressure. “Mbappe has been scoring a lot of goals and has been doing very well.
The thing with Real Madrid is everybody compares you to greats of the past, and you almost have to win virtually every trophy just to keep up with the demand and the expectation,” Owen told Sportstar . In the city for the ‘Legends Faceoff’ fixture, Owen admitted that despite the pressure, the French forward has fared well. “Real Madrid has won the league and the Champions League in recent years.
So, if Mbappe then turns up and (even if) they don’t have a good team, everybody blames him, which is an incredible pressure because they were winning before. I’m sure they will continue to be successful as well. But I think he’s done very well,” Owen said during a select media interaction on Sunday.
Real Madrid is second in the La Liga table, four points behind Barcelona. The team went down to Valencia in its last outing, following which Mbappe expressed his disappointment on social media. With the league seemingly slipping away, Madrid’s consecutive success in the Champions League may represent its last chance of finishing the season with silverware.
And, Owen backs Mbappe. “He is one of the most destructive players on the planet. He’s quick, he’s got great touch, he can score great goals.
So I always thought it was going to be a great signing. I was interested to see how they would fit players in. Obviously, Vinicius Junior plays in a similar role to him, just off the left in an attacking role.
So I was interested to see how they were going to fit all these great players in,” he said. ALSO READ | Edmilson compares rivalry to Brazil vs Argentina, Pepe picks Ronaldo over Messi “But he’s certainly a wonderful player. Champions League, they’ve had a real tough run.
They’ve had to play some good teams already. So if they win it, they’re going to deserve it this season because they’ve not been very fortunate with the draw. But yeah, I think Mbappe has done well.
And that’s regardless if they win the league, that’s regardless if they win the Champions League,” Owen said. The former England star also added with a smile: “I know he will be judged on that by a lot of journalists and fans and whatever, but I think it’s clear to see that he’s one of the world’s best..
..” With Mbappe and Vinicius missing penalties quite often, Real has drawn flak this season, but Luis Figo, one of the legends of the side, believes that the championship cannot be decided until the end.
“I think you can score, you can miss. Only those who take it can miss it. It’s their responsibility, of course.
Barcelona and Madrid are always going to be like the two biggest teams that fight for the title in Spain. And let’s see what happens until the end. You see the football these days, of course, they are the strongest team, but everything can happen,” Figo said.
“I see them strong and playing like always to win. But football is sometimes made of small details, and that can make the difference. And we have to wait until the end because you can never give up,” the former Portugal captain said.
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