Player Review
87 - Normal
Firstly I'd like to say if you reference the squad I link, I played this team in a 4-3-1-2 usually with Coutinho at CAM and Suarez/Mbappe on strikers. On to the review then.
I have tried out a lot of expensive players this year and wanted to try Mbappe at some point, although I didn't like any of his cards last year. However, coming in at over 400k coins with the stats he does seemed steep. He really only has finishing, pace, and dribbling, but I figured I should get it out of the way and try him out.
In 59 games he has scored 50 and assisted 20 (This was higher prior to Suarez coming into the team). The man finishes everything inside the box. Even when he is outside the box his finesse shots as well as some low driven shots go right in with the keeper barely moving to get them.
At 96 pace with 89 dribbling and 5* skills you can get past nearly anyone. You really don't need to be a skiller to make use of this guy, just doing a move here or there on him puts you right through on goal or into position to pass the ball onto a striker.
I will mention also I used Deadeye on him as it significantly boosted his shot, as well as his passing which I found crucial for him.
Let me further break him down.
- 96 Pace - As mentioned above he is lightning quick. I have used other players like Salah and Bale and for some reason Mbappe just feels so much faster than them. He is one of the only fast players I have used this year that actually feels as fast as their card says. 10/10
- 81 Shot - Right so looking at this card you can see that he has a weird distribution of stats in shooting. His positioning and finishing are obviously insane. Shot power and longshots never seemed to be a problem, he scored from outside the 18 with ease if given the chance. As mentioned above his finesse shots are also amazing. I do recommend a Deadeye or other shooting boost chem style here just to help round out his stats and make him even more effective (99 positioning and 99 finishing with Deadeye). 10/10
- 79 Passing - This is where the Deadeye came into play. After finding some reviews of this card online I saw people complain about his passing and more specifically his crossing. I figured I would boost that up, and although the chem style only gives him +5 crossing, I see no issues with it at all. He's no KDB, but he can definitely make passes when you need him too. 8/10
- 89 Dribbling - Not much to say here. This is very much "what you see is what you get". Amazing dribbling, he moves so quickly with the ball and can turn immediately when needed. His balance and composure really are visible in game as well since he seems to hold himself up to get the shot off even when being pushed around by defenders. 10/10
- 39 Defending - Well I played him on striker with my tactics set to "stay forward" so this was never relevant outside heading. Mbappe actually scored me a handful of headers over my opponents defenders. I will base this solely off his heading as his actual defending abilities are rarely, if ever seen. 7/10
- 72 Physical - As I mentioned above I have Mbappe set to stay forward. This means although he has 83 stamina (which isn't very low anyways), he still has around 50% of his stamina left at the 90 minute mark. As I previously stated as well his heading is decent so jumping is fine. His strength and aggression seem to be downright wrong as there are many occasions where he can push off defenders and get in on goal. 8/10
- 5* Skills - I'm not a skiller, but if you get towards the box you can pull a single skill move with Mbappe and if you don't get past the defender, you will often get shoved for a penalty. I usually use a Berbaspin, Rabona fake, or La Croqueta.
- 4* Weak Foot - As always 4* WF is the best you can get on most players. I don't shoot left footed with him much but as you'd expect he can certainly put goals in with both feet.
There isn't much to say here. He's honestly one of the best cards I've used all year. If I had to complain about anything I would say:
- Price - at 425,000 at the time of purchase he is definitely an investment. DO NOT drain your entire club of coins for this player. If you can't afford a decent team around him, don't take the plunge.
- Defending - If used at RM this would be more of an issue as he does have very minimal defending stats.