Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe Dedicates Pankena to Brahim Diaz After AFCON Loss

Kylian Mbappe dedicated his successful Panenka penalty against Villarreal to Real Madrid teammate Brahim Diaz following his Africa Cup of Nations nightmare. The Morocco international had a brilliant AFCON but crucially missed his Panenka spot-kick in their final loss to Senegal. Nearly a week on from that heartbreak, Mbappe paid tribute to the 26-year-old at Villarreal in a 2-0 win.

Moments after Senegal had a goal controversially disallowed in the AFCON final earlier this month, Diaz won a hotly debated penalty, which led The Lions of Teranga to walk off the pitch in protest. Following a lengthy delay, Diaz failed to execute his questionable Panenka penalty, and Senegal went on to win the final in extra-time. In the aftermath of that agonising defeat, the Madrid man admitted he had "failed" and apologised from the "bottom of my heart".

He wrote on Instagram: "My soul hurts. I dreamed of this title thanks to all the love you all gave me, every message, every show of support that made me feel I wasn’t alone. I fought with everything I had, with my heart above all else. Yesterday I failed and I take full responsibility. I apologise from the bottom of my heart. It will be hard for me to recover, because this wound doesn’t heal easily… but I will try. Not for myself, but for everyone who believed in me and for everyone who suffered with me. I will keep going forward until one day I can give you all this love back and become a source of pride for my Moroccan people."

On Saturday, Mbappe scored a brace for Madrid against Villarreal as they leapfrogged rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Diaz only came on late in the game but before his introduction, the France international was off celebrating his Panenka. Movistar cameras