Mbappé after the derby: “A step back, we must do more” | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappé did not want to get involved in the refereeing controversy surrounding Real Madrid’s defeat to Atlético de Madrid. The French forward admitted there were mistakes during the derby, but avoided blaming the referee and instead focused on how the team must respond after the 2-1 loss at the Metropolitano.

Real Madrid suffered their second defeat of the season and ended Matchday 7 of LaLiga six points behind Barcelona.

The controversy centered on two first-half incidents that prompted complaints from Los Blancos: a challenge by Cristian Romero on Jude Bellingham and another by Kang-in Lee on Federico Valverde.

José Mourinho strongly criticized the refereeing and even showed images of both incidents during his press conference.

Mbappé, however, chose to stay out of it.

“Referees are human and they make mistakes”

The French attacker said he has his own opinion about what happened, but did not want to make it public.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been a player who talks much about referees. I’m not going to start now. I have my own opinion, but I’ll keep it to myself,” he explained.

Mbappé acknowledged that there were refereeing mistakes, although he refused to make them the focus of the analysis.

“Referees are human and they make mistakes — and those were mistakes — but I don’t want to get into that,” he said.

A different stance from the one Mourinho took after the match, when the Portuguese coach called for two possible red cards during the first half.

“It was a step backward”

For Mbappé, the priority should be Real Madrid’s response after losing the derby.

“It’s a step backward. It’s very tough; we wanted to win and we knew what kind of match it was going to be,” he admitted.

The Frenchman, however, highlighted his teammates’ attitude and urged people not to lose sight of the fact that an important part of the season still remains.

“The team gave everything and we move forward, because there is still a long way to go this season and we have to stay on the right track,” he said.

And he left a clear task:

“We have to work and do more. We have to give our maximum.”

Now, Mbappé switches focus to France

After the derby, the forward will join the French national team, which is beginning a new era with Zinedine Zidane as head coach.

The change marks the end of Didier Deschamps’ cycle and the beginning of a particularly meaningful period for Mbappé, who has known Zidane since long before becoming one of the biggest stars in world football.

The new national team coach was in contact with Mbappé during his teenage years, when the forward had a trial at Real Madrid.

“He was the first person who picked me up and took me to Real Madrid, to the training ground, when I was 13 or 14 years old; that was a long time ago. And now he is my national team coach. It feels like something out of a movie, but it’s incredible,” he recalled.

Mbappé is thus entering a new chapter with France, with the Nations League as one of the first major challenges.

“We are in a new era with France. We have two years to prepare for the European Championship,” he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.