The 24-year-old made his debut in the middle of the field with Josh Cullen of Burnley, but he was powerless to stop his team’s 2-0 loss at Parc des Princes.
The World Cup finalists won thanks to goals from Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid and Marcus Thuram of Inter Milan in each half. The Baggies midfielder was replaced on 67 minutes by his former Albion teammate Dara O’Shea.
Since then, Irish media have responded to Molumby’s performance. On page 55, the Irish Daily Star was blunt in its assessment of Molumby, calling his performance a “frustrating and disappointing night” before he was replaced.
The midfielder’s “crunching challenge” on Tchouameni at the opening of the game thrilled The Irish Sun, but the second half was “tough” as he “chased shadows.”
The Irishman “played with aggression early on” until his impact diminished as the game went on, according to the Irish Daily Mail on page 55.
The Irish News gave a less critical review, noting that he was “full of energy” and “won a few balls back in key areas,” but it also noted that he didn’t pose much of a threat to the French. The newspaper called it a “typical Molumby performance.”
Independent.The West Brom player on the right side of midfield gave what ie called a “energetic performance” by making several “lung-bursting runs” to put the home team under pressure early on. However, it was also noticed that he started to lose steam after the half.
Tough
Molumby and the other Irish athletes knew they were up against one of the top international teams in the world, so it was always going to be difficult.
France qualified for the 2022 World Cup final for a reason, and they ought to defeat Stephen Kenny’s team very easily.
However, it appears that Molumby’s aggressive approach to challenging the French midfield at the beginning of the game impressed the Irish media.
It’s not surprising that he lost energy as the game progressed because his legs must have been working much harder than they may have in the Championship.
Although he might be unhappy that he didn’t have a bigger impact on the game, he can definitely learn from the experience going forward.
