Kylian Mbappé, mediocre in the first leg of this Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona, must do much better during the return leg this Tuesday, April 16, whether given his status or his situation in the capital. He, who is on the verge of departure, is one match away from formalizing the packing of his bags or prolonging the supporters’ dream.
Published on: 04/16/2024 – 10:16
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In order to erase PSG’s defeat and its poor performance in the first leg, Kylian Mbappé is eagerly awaited against Barcelona on Tuesday April 16 in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League: by the club, the supporters, but also Spain, who should be his destination this summer.
The Parc des Princes was ready, Wednesday April 10, 2024, to ignite for its superstar and forgive him for his almost formal departure from PSG at the end of June for Real Madrid. But the spark never came, and it was rather Ousmane Dembélé who was the darling of the Parisian public, before the collapse of the team (3-2).
Read alsoChampions League: PSG loses to Barça
On both sides of the Pyrenees, the columnists did not have enough harsh words to describe the performance of the Frenchman, unable to escape from the marking of the Catalan defenders. The Madrid daily Brandwho praised a “ Mbappé unstoppable » in the previous round against Real Sociedad, this time described him as “ lazy “. And the newspaper close to Real Madrid, the very likely future club of the captain of the Blues, noted: “ Mbappé could clarify his future very quickly if his team is not able to come back ” in Barcelona. Read between the lines that if Paris is eliminated from the Champions League and, therefore, could no longer face Real Madrid there this season, the French striker should make his departure and his next destination official.
PSG displays appropriate optimism before the return leg. “ We really want tomorrow’s match to start », Launched Achraf Hakimi at a press conference. “ We are convinced that we will turn the situation around “, bounced back the coach, Luis Enrique. And even if the Spanish technician, when asked if Kylian Mbappé was ready for the match, assured that “all the players on my team are”, the pressure weighs on the shoulders of number 7. Given his status in the capital, he has a duty to do better, at the risk of seeing this quarter-final return turn into a farewell to Paris on the European scene.
Barcola back to accompany Mbappé and Dembélé?
Is Enrique best placed to know Mbappé’s state of physical and especially mental fitness? The question may seem paradoxical, given his role as a coach, who is more experienced and used to locker rooms made up of stars. But the relationship between the two men is not in good shape. Since the departure of “KM7” to Madrid was announced by the player internally, the former FC Barcelona coach has chosen to truncate his attacker’s playing time.
If an explanation between the two men in training on March 2 seemed to have eased tensions, they resumed at the end of the month. Luis Enrique took the player out on the hour mark against Marseille, a meeting that the captain of the France team, disappointing that evening, had nevertheless marked with a milestone and likes to play.
Bradley Barcola with PSG after coming on against FC Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League, April 10, 2024. REUTERS – Sarah Meyssonnier
Whether Kylian Mbappé, who had never been so placed on the bench since his arrival at PSG, was thinking or not, last Wednesday’s match also draws a more worrying reality for the player: the team’s play is not going well. both by him and by Ousmane Dembélé and Vitinha. These last two are the new catalysts of the group on the latest releases. To see if the return of Bradley Barcola, whose understanding on the field with Mbappé is often a source of goals, will change the situation in the offensive sector.
(With AFP)
