Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe showed off his blazing speed during the team’s recent Ligue 1 fixture against Olympique de Marseille. The French forward scored a quick transition goal in a sequence where he reached up to 20-plus miles per hour speeds on the run.
Lille defender Sven Botman has had several encounters against Mbappe. And the one aspect of Mbappe’s game that continues to stand out to Botman is his quick speed as a forward.
Botman elaborated to the Dutch-based outlet Voetbalzone on just what it is like to face Mbappe on the pitch and while there are other top speedsters in the sport today, his experience in facing the Frenchman puts the PSG star at the top of the list in this aspect.
“You just don’t come across such players in the Netherlands, so I enjoy that,” Botman said. “I want to meet as many different types of strikers as possible so that I myself become more and more complete.
“I can tell you that he is not only fast on television. You will be surprised at that on the field, because he is really not normal. I don’t think anyone is as fast as he is at the moment.
“Fortunately, because with him, there is just a very good chance of a goal if he can thunder past you at full speed. I am not slow myself, but I have never experienced that much speed.”
Lille currently stands at the top of the table in Ligue 1 play. The current league-leaders will be facing off against PSG later this season in what will be the return league fixture between the two sides.
If Lille aims at maintaining its aspirations at pulling off of a grand Ligue 1 title upset win, Botman and the rest of the team’s backline will certainly have to do their best to contain Mbappe’s top speed in their fixture later this season.
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