Dean Saunders has explained how Kylian Mbappe is similar to Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs.
Mbappe hit the headlines on Saturday afternoon after he scored a brace and won a penalty in France’s 4-3 defeat of Argentina in the World Cup round-of-16.
It was the latest stage in the teenager’s rise to stardom, following his incredible 2016/17 season with Monaco, and his £166million move to Paris Saint-Germain, initially on a year-long loan deal, last summer.
Mbappe scored 26 goals and created a further 14 in that brilliant campaign for Monaco, before adding a further 21 goals and 16 assists in 2017/18 for PSG.
His brace on Saturday took his goal tally for France to seven in just 19 appearances, and his second against Argentina might be the best of the lot; running onto Olivier Giroud’s perfectly timed pass, he struck a brilliant side-footed shot which curled away from Franco Armani in goal and nestled in the side netting.
However, Mbappe’s most eye-catching moment of the match was the run he made which resulted in France being awarded a penalty from which Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring.
Picking up the ball midway inside France’s half of the pitch, the 19-year-old outpaced four Argentina players before Marcos Rojo – the fourth player – fouled him in the area.
It was a perfect display of Mbappe’s speed, but also of his technical ability, as he remained in control of the ball for the entire dribble.
And this ability is why Mbappe reminds Dean Saunders, the former Liverpool forward, of Ryan Giggs.
“I played with Ryan Giggs,” Saunders said on the Weekend Sports Breakfast, “and he was quicker with the ball than without the ball at times.
“When he started running with the ball it wouldn’t leave his foot for more than 12 inches.
“If I was running with the ball I’d have to kick it out my feet and it gives defenders the chance to tackle me.
“And he’s [Mbappe] got that; when he’s running he seems to be quicker with the ball.
“You can see why they’ve [Paris Saint-Germain] paid £166million for him.”
