Merseyside pair make European U21 team of the month as Mbappe steals the show
He may have only played a game and a half upon his return to Paris Saint-Germain having helped France to the World Cup over the summer, but Kylian Mbappe has already made quite the impact.
The teenager made his comeback to the side with PSG trailing 1-0 at half-time in Guingamp, only to turn the game on its head, scoring twice as the French champions eventually won 3-1. The striker scored again in a victory of the same scoreline against Angers, as well as registering an assist, and in just 135 minutes in total fired off seven shots and completed eight dribbles in August for a rating of 8.61.
He’s joined in the U21 team of the month by teammate Stanley N’Soki, who is one of a number of youngsters being integrated into the first team be new manager Thomas Tuchel. In the same amount of minutes as Mbappe the 19-year-old completed seven tackles and completed 89.6 per cent of his passes.
Elsewhere there is Merseyside representation from Liverpool defender Joe Gomez and Everton recruit Richardson. The former helped the Reds become the only team to keep three Premier League clean sheets in August, while the latter scored three times in his first two appearances for the Toffees before seeing red at Bournemouth.
The back three is completed by 18-year-old Toulouse starlet Jean-Clair Todibo, who won 13 aerial duels and completed 16 clearances across victories over Bordeaux and Nimes, while Peru Nolaskoain scored on his Athletic club debut, won 11 aerial duels and completed 90 per cent of his passes in two outings.
The Spaniard is joined by compatriots Marc Roca and Igor Zubeldia of Espanyol and Real Sociedad respectively, with the two partnering in midfield. The former won seven tackles and completed 91.2 per cent of his passes to help his team to an unbeaten start, while the latter won eight tackles and made nine interceptions across his three appearances.
On the right flank Davide Calabria of AC Milan takes a spot in the XI having scored in defeat against Napoli and helped his side to victory over Roma in a tough start for the Rossoneri, completing nine tackles in just two games. Ahead of him Bordeaux youngster Samuel Kalu earns a place having replaced Barcelona-bound Malcom for the Ligue 1 side, with the Nigerian making an immediate impression having fired off seven shots, created four chances and completed five dribbles in two outings.
The final spot belongs to Nimes stopper Paul Bernardoni, who was kept busy last month, producing 12 saves and nine from attempts inside the box - the most in the league. The 21-year-old’s interventions helped the newly-promoted side to back-to-back wins at the start of the campaign.
