Kylian Mbappe at his best! The Paris Saint-Germain striker, the top scorer of the kidnapping (1-0), rained Real Madrid, who aspires to recruit him, after a tense round of 16 on Tuesday in the Champions League, while Manchester City marched against Sporting (5-0). ).
– And in the end, Mbappe is the one to score –
It’s a great relief for Paris Saint-Germain, who has long been under scrutiny by the Madrid defense, like the penalty missed by Lionel Messi (61): Mbappe, the top scorer in extra time (90 + 4) gave the Parisians a well-deserved advantage in the end from the first round. , which will have to be confirmed in the return leg on March 9 in Spain.
As we headed towards a goalless draw at Parc des Princes, Mbappe came off with a final jerk and a winning cross shot at the last minute past Thibaut Courtois, who has been passable thus far.
“We are satisfied but this is only the first part. We are taking a slight advantage in the second leg,” the striker cheered into the RMC Sport microphone.
He deserves it for the Parisians, who have been very contradictory this season but have finally shown the victorious face we have come to expect of them, the face of a European title contender.
We were hoping for a sexy poster, it was annoying and Paris didn’t really know what to do with the ball they had confiscated, except to rely on the dazzling flashes of the inevitable Mbappe.
“Kyky’s” excesses made the Paris crowd tremble and merengue defence, like Dani Carvajal, who regularly skips and misses the star’s penalty kick.
But Courtois stopped Messi’s attempt (61) and doubled the decisive stops.
For his part, Real was not present in an offensive manner, with a shy return to competition with Karim Benzema, who was weaned from the balls after three weeks of absence due to injury.
Even coming into play for Neymar, who also came back from injury, was not able to settle things… Even the flash of Mbappe, the king of the end games, as is often the case in L1 this season, able to ignore the many rumors that he sends to Real.
“Everyone is talking to say something, and the truth is I was really focused on helping my team,” he said. “Tonight I showed it, and we’ll have to show it when we get back on March 9. I’m really focused and happy to be at PSG.”
It was not confirmed after returning to the Santiago Bernabeu, who dreams of encouraging “Kiki” in the white shirt next season. But for now, this is the Parisian shirt that Mbappe wears and PSG dreams with him.
– City go against Sporting –
A healthy run for Manchester City: Pep Guardiola’s side did not provide any details in Lisbon at Sporting Portugal, helpless in the face of the opponent’s spurts and Bernardo Silva’s double.
The Portuguese attacking midfielder, previously competing with Benfica, hit a powerful half-volley that entered with the help of the crossbar (17) and then topped a shot between the legs of a defender (44th place). And he could have increased the result by a header (50) if his goal had not been canceled for offside.
A postponed party for the citizens: their festival started with a flat foot from Riyad Mahrez (seventh) before continuing with a goal from Phil Foden after a series of defensive errors (32), then a clear shot from Raheem Sterling in a niche (59). ). He is tough on Sporting’s defense, which has already taken five against Ajax Amsterdam in the group stage (5-1).
Here very close to joining the quarter-finals of C1 for the fifth year in a row, on the condition that they negotiate without fear the return leg which prima facie seems like a formality in Manchester.
Guardiola and his family, who is largely in charge of the Premier League, will have plenty of time to present themselves to the future, with the dream of playing a second final in a row and winning this time.
