Kylian Mbappe dedicates his Panenka goal to recently returned AFCON finalist teammate | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe scored from a difficult angle early in the first half to break the deadlock in Real Madrid’s clash against Villarreal last night.

Later in the game, he once again stepped up to take a penalty in the final minute of the game and finished with a cool panenka to hand the team a 2-0 win.

Needless to say, he was named the man-of-the-match once more for his stunning brace and showed the world that he is well. and truly back from his injury.

Mbappe dedicates the goal

Mbappe’s Panenka was executed to perfection. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

As he was making his way out of the Estadio de la Ceramica last night, the Real Madrid star striker was asked if the Panenka penalty in the closing minutes of the game had anything to do with Brahim Diaz.

After all, the Moroccan international missed a penalty in the final minute of the AFCON final just earlier this month – a penalty that would have surely won his nation the title. Instead, it progressed to extra time where Senegal triumphed.

Mbappe, well aware of what he was being asked, made a heartwarming gesture of dedicating the goal to his teammate who has been suffering serious backlash in recent weeks.

“Yes, all my support for him,” the Frenchman said via DAZN.

Mbappe’s decision to dedicate the Panenka to Brahim has generated mixed reactions from the fans.

While some understand it and see it as a wholesome gesture from the superstar to a struggling teammate, others see it as an open mockery for scoring a goal that the Moroccan missed and then dedicating it to him, reminding him of his failure.

With Alvaro Arbeloa speaking volumes on the team’s unity and feeling of togetherness, however, it is clear that Mbappe genuinely meant the goal as a message of support to his teammate.

Brahim Diaz, for his part, came on for the final ten minutes of the game and was on the field at the time of the said penalty. In fact, he even celebrated the goal with Mbappe.