NextGoalWinner’s Player Of The Month award enters April 2022, and we have seen the end of 3 out of the 5 major European title races (if they ever had one). Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich all wrapped up their titles with comfort and will be almost putting their feet up on the beaches (Madrid aside perhaps). However, as these seasons were coming to an end, the quality never let up, and we were treated to some of Europe’s top sides playing with a feeling of success and happiness to boost their quality and performances even more.

One of the players who certainly played at the top of his game in this month, despite being part of one of the aforementioned championship winning sides, was Kylian Mbappe. The PSG forward’s future may well be up in the air and uncertain, but his talent showed no signs of distraction or easing in the conclusion of the campaign of mixed successes, with a huge 14 goal contributions coming from just 6 Ligue 1 outings. To put this into context, his 14 contributions matches that of Phil Foden across the entire Premier League season, and nearly 3x more than £100million man Jack Grealish. With 2 braces and a hattrick of assists in another, Mbappe has been consistently finding the back of the net and also making chances for his side, in a huge contribution to get them officially over the line and reclaim the Ligue 1 title they had lost the season previous. If he is to leave, the fees will surely be astronomical, and whoever manages to grab his signature are receiving one hell of a talent.

As always, if you disagree or have anything to add to our pick of the month, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you think.

Match By Match

April 3rd: PSG 5-1 Lorient – Starting the month off in style, Mbappe netted a brace and a hattrick of assists as he was crucial (to say the least) in his sides’ victory at home to Lorient. Mbappe, Neymar and Messi all netted on the night, but it was the 23 year old who deservedly took the headlines and plaudits. With a 9.9/10 rating from FotMob, he was as close to perfect as you could ever wish, with his 5 goal contributions adding to a plethora of fantastic stats from the 90 minutes. He completed the most dribbles (6), hit the woodwork, had 3 shots on target, an 87% pass accuracy and made 4 key passes and created 2 big chances. As his side dominated and sought to claim the Ligue 1 trophy for good, this performance went a long way.

April 9th: Clermont Foot 1-6 PSG – From a hattrick of assists previously to a hattrick of goals in the second game of the month, Mbappe could only get 4 goal contributions and a 9.8/10 rating (pretty poor by his previous standards), however he again was on top form as his side stormed past Clermont. With Neymar also bagging a hattrick and Messi getting 3 assists, to play between these two legends and be man of the match takes something special, and Mbappe proves time and time again that he truly is a special talent. With 7 shots in total (86% shot accuracy), 84% pass accuracy, winning a penalty which Neymar tucked away and drawing the most fouls of anyone on the pitch, it shows how defences simply cannot handle Mbappe when he gets on the ball and picks up the pace. Another perfect night for PSG and the title grew even closer.

April 17th: PSG 2-1 Marseille – Arguably the toughest game of the month for PSG as they played a Marseille side with something still to fight for on a European front, but they edged past their 2nd placed rivals, thanks to a Mbappe penalty which he tucked away confidently to add to his 5 previous goals and also keep PSG on their unbeaten streak through April. Although he managed just a 7.4/10 rating, he still proved highly influential on proceedings, and despite statistically not being his usual best, the 3 points will be the only stat he and the PSG supporters will have cared about.

April 20th: Angers 0-3 PSG – After (by his own standards) a disappointing run out considering the start of the month, he ramped his performances back up once again with another goal and a 8.8/10 rating as he paired up with the impressive Di Maria up top. Completing 7 dribbles, winning the most duels (7), having a 91% pass accuracy, 3 shots on target and making 2 recoveries, it was an all-round performance from the attacker which helped his side to the comfortable 3 points.

April 23rd: PSG 1-1 Lens – The draw against Lens may well have been disappointing any other time of the year, especially given the previous performances, however this point was all PSG needed to secure their Ligue 1 title, and that is what they got. Mbappe individually ended his scoring run, and PSG ended their perfect run of games across the month, however 1 point guaranteed the title returns to Paris and Mbappe can add to an already unbelievable trophy cabinet for a player still before the peak in his career.

April 29th: Strasbourg 3-3 PSG – The final game of the month saw Mbappe back on the scoresheet once again with another brace, and an assist to bring his goal contributions to 14 from 6 games, which is truly remarkable. With 9 goals and 5 assists, he has been on an incredible run to end the season and possibly his time as PSG. With a 9.2/10 rating, his average across the 6 performances is at an incredible 8.8/10 for the month. Playing a crucial role in the league title win, Mbappe has been leaving his mark on the Parc des Princes and in the hearts of the PSG supporters. A truly deserved winner of this months’ award.