Attack and defence

In which the curmudgeonly old sod puts the world to rights.

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It struck the JC while watching the 2022 World Cup Final that there is a large asymmetry between attack and defence. The final will be remembered for Lionel Messi, yes, but also for 23-year-old Kilian Mbappé’s magnificent hat-trick — the first in a world Cup final since Geoff Hurst’s in 1966.

Compare Mbappé’s performance with his opposite number on the night, Nicolás Otamendi, whose one obvious mistake was a marginal foul on Kolo Muani:

Here is how the media in the UK saw the player ratings.

Caption text
Newspaper	Nicolás Otamendi	Kilian Mbappé	Comment
Guardian	6	9	Otamendi: Like his team, he had looked comfortable until Kolo Muani sorely exposed him in a one-on-one. Mbappé: Out of the game until turning it on its head and becoming first final hat-trick scorer since Geoff Hurst.
Sky Sports	6	9	Otamendi: Was playing so well - and then gave away a daft penalty to allow France back into the game. Mbappé: It felt a false start for 80 minutes but then the Grandmaster produced another work of art.
Express	5	9	Otamendi: Clumsy late penalty cost a straightforward win - the needless arm grapple gave Kolo Muani reason to tumble. Mbappé: Squeezed his first penalty past Martinez then came alive. Second brilliantly taken, the hat-trick emphatic.
Telegraph	4	10	Otamendi: Stupid mistake to give away the penalty against Muani as the 34-year-old had barely been troubled for 60 minutes by the French attack. Mbappé: One of the finest World Cup performances in history. Struggling to generate a spark for 60 minutes, then the supercharger came on and he hit a hattrick.
Sun	6	9	Otamendi: His brain-fade moment turned a victory cruise into a desperate fight for survival and opened the door for one of the greatest games of all time. Mbappé: Zero to hero. Incredible. Was he playing in the first half? Looked like he’d picked the biggest game of his career to have the worst day of his life. Then….remarkable.