” It’s my idol. He has class and he expresses himself very well. I’m going to quote it in a future song…” If he wants to make it a real success, singer Renaud would do well to wait a bit before talking about it, as he recently revealed to our colleagues from L’Équipe, Kylian Mbappé in one of his compositions.
The Parisian number 7 certainly saved his partners from disaster, this Tuesday, November 28 against Newcastle, by scoring the equalizing goal at the end of added time. But on this evening with capital accents, the star of the Ligue 1 leader initially missed everything, or almost everything, in his intentions, his choices or his technical gestures.
In the first minutes, however, he gave the impression of having been mounted on legs of fire, his explosive strides suggesting that he was having a good day.
His first period only allowed us to glimpse it sparingly. On this roulette-heel following a caviar from Hakimi which would undoubtedly have gone around the world if Pope had not played the impassable (9th). With the exception of a shift for Ruiz (35th) and a cross for Dembélé (45th + 2), it was a very discreet first period delivered by the championship’s top scorer.
At least he didn’t give up
One shot, 50% successful dribbles and only one shot on the clock, that was short for a player of his caliber. The second period, let’s say it, was for a long time only a slight improvement on the previous one. But he had the merit of not giving up. To push with your own, to insist without ever giving up, or short of breath.
In a match where he alternated between hot and cold, he missed the boat several times, before freeing his partners and the Parc des Princes. His scissors, following Dembélé’s attempt repelled by Pope, was completely unscrewed (57th). He therefore had nothing to reproach Barcola, a few minutes later, when the caviar he offered him was rejected by a masterful save from the English goalkeeper (66th).
“We need to be more clinical in front of goal”
But the strength of this team of friends is being able to count on each other. Dembélé’s cross diverted by Livramento in stoppage time allowed the Parisian number 7 to give a completely different profile to this evening of thrills.
Like four days earlier against Monaco, the Parisian star had a very average match, but assumed his status and his responsibilities to snatch the point from a draw by scoring, at the end of added time, his second penalty in four days . A goal – the 17th this season – which did not make him smile, but which has the merit of not having extinguished the hopes of qualification. Considering the evening’s scenario, it’s already a great performance.
“We dominate this team from start to finish, they have nothing, but we must finish our actions better,” he said at the microphone of Canal +. We have too much action for a Champions League match. We have to be more clinical in front of goal, we have to kill and win the match in a big way. » With a closed face, he continued: “There’s nothing to be relieved about, you have to stay under pressure. There is the championship, we have to win the matches. We will go to Dortmund to win, with the ambition and the certainty that we will win. »
And, in a final word, he underlined: “We cannot afford to have so many actions without scoring. If we play like that and we are more skillful it will go well in Dortmund.”
