Gerard Pique on Kylian Mbappe scoring twice against Barcelona:
“I’ve seen people comparing Mbappe with Raphinha because of the goals they’ve scored this season.
Raphinha is having a fantastic season. I don’t think anybody can seriously argue otherwise.
But I watched Mbappe against Barcelona, and I think people need to understand something about defending against players like him.
It’s exhausting.
And I don’t mean physically. Of course, he’s quick, everybody knows that.
I’m talking about what happens in your head.
I remember playing against Cristiano at Madrid. Sometimes we’d have 20 minutes where he barely touched the ball.
And you’d think, okay, we’re controlling this quite well.
Then you’d look over your shoulder and he’d be moving again.
You’d tell the other defender, ‘Watch him.’
He’d say, ‘I’m watching him.’
And you’d say, ‘No, watch him properly.’
Because you knew one mistake could undo everything you’d done for the previous hour.
That’s what Mbappe does.
Against Barcelona, you could see the defenders constantly checking where he was.
He makes a run, you follow him. He stops, you stop. He goes again, and now you’re wondering whether to stay with him or hold your position.
And while you’re making that decision, the midfielder has already played the pass.
That’s the problem.
People watch the goals and say, ‘Well, the defending should’ve been better.’
Sometimes it should.
But try making the correct decision every single time against a striker who only needs you to get it wrong once.
I remember after one Classico, one of our defenders came into the dressing room and said, ‘I don’t understand how he keeps finding space when we know exactly what he’s trying to do.’
And I told him, ‘That’s why he’s one of the best.’
You can study a player all week. You can watch every movement he’s made in the last ten matches.
Then the game starts, and he does the same thing you’ve prepared for.
And somehow he still gets there first.
Mbappe scored twice at Camp Nou. He could’ve had other opportunities too.
That tells you how much trouble he caused.
And the thing I find funny is that people have become so used to his numbers that they sometimes speak about him as though he’s declining whenever somebody else is scoring more.
Raphinha scoring more league goals doesn’t suddenly make Mbappe an ordinary striker.
Barcelona are playing very good football, and Raphinha is benefiting from that while contributing enormously himself.
But Mbappe has something that very few players possess.
He can make a defence uncomfortable even when his own team isn’t playing particularly well.
You don’t have to dominate possession for him to hurt you.
You don’t even have to create 10 chances.
Give him the right ball twice, and you might concede twice.
That’s a horrible situation for a defender.
Because you can spend ninety minutes doing almost everything correctly and still walk off the pitch feeling like you’ve had a terrible game.
I can imagine some of Barcelona’s defenders getting home after that match and still thinking about the runs he made.
I’ve been there.
And believe me, when you’ve spent an entire evening trying to stop a player like that, the last thing you want is somebody showing you the goals again.
So yes, Raphinha deserves his praise.
But anybody suggesting Mbappe has stopped being one of the best forwards in the world should try defending against him for 90 minutes.
I suspect they’d change their opinion quite