Mbappé rescues PSG to keep his Champions League dream alive

PARIS — Kylian Mbappé may be heading for the exit door at Paris Saint-Germain, but if this season is his last chance to win the UEFA Champions League with his hometown club, he is ensuring it doesn’t end. fail to finish in the group stage – – just ask Newcastle United’s distraught players after the 24-year-old’s save in stoppage time at the Parc des Princes.

Mbappé’s penalty, after eight minutes of stoppage time, saved the 1-1 draw for PSG and put Luis Enrique’s side in control of their own destiny in Group F after Alexander Isak’s goal in the first half gave Newcastle the lead. The late penalty means PSG’s task on matchday six at Borussia Dortmund is simple: win and qualify for the knockout stages.

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Whether this PSG team can actually go all the way and win the Champions League is another matter, but with Mbappé’s contract expiring at the end of the season and the French striker showing no desire to sign one a new one, he will be free. negotiate with any club outside France from January 1 – this very much looks like his latest attempt to deliver the only trophy that has eluded PSG since it was transformed by the arrival of Qatari owners in 2011 .

When Mbappé signed for PSG after a sensational season with Monaco in 2017, he arrived at the club shortly after Neymar became the world’s most expensive player by leaving Barcelona for Paris in a £222 transfer. millions of euros. PSG was a team of stars and Mbappé and Neymar joined Edinson Cavani, Angel di Maria, Thiago Silva and Marco Verratti with the sole objective of winning the Champions League.

But all those big names have now moved on – Lionel Messi is also gone – and all PSG has to show for it is a final lost to Bayern Munich in 2020. The Champions League continues to elude PSG and Mbappe won. He doesn’t hang around forever in a vain attempt to win it, especially when he’s overseeing a team that no longer has the quality or charisma of the one he joined.

PSG are trying to build a younger team, recruiting the best emerging French talents, but the reality is that the best French players, with the exception of Mbappé – Antoine Griezmann, William Saliba, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Christopher Nkunku – all choose to play. their football in the biggest European championships rather than with PSG in Ligue 1.

Yet this match against Newcastle proved that Mbappé is still fighting, still trying to be the man who makes the difference in the Champions League. When he waved his arms towards the crowd in the 67th minute, Mbappé demanded more noise and support from an already noisy home support. He knew PSG needed everyone, on and off the pitch, to help break down Newcastle’s stoic resistance.

Mbappé missed chances and created them for others to miss as Newcastle rode their luck and goalkeeper Nick Pope had the game of his life, but it wasn’t until he was dispossessed by Jamaal Lascelles in the 84th minute that he seemed ready to throw in the towel. . That’s when Mbappe’s shoulders dropped, as if he thought it just wasn’t going to be PSG’s night.

But their luck finally changed in the sixth minute of stoppage time when referee Szymon Marciniak considered a penalty after initially failing to spot a Tino Livramento ball from Ousmane Dembélé’s cross. It was a questionable decision, with the ball hitting Livramento’s chest before bouncing off his arm, but following VAR intervention Marciniak pointed to the spot.

Trailing 1-0, Mbappé knew that PSG’s hopes rested on him. A defeat would force PSG to win against Dortmund and hope Newcastle fail to beat AC Milan, but they took the pressure off and scored from the spot to swing the pendulum back in PSG’s favor. But despite his late equalizer, Mbappe said he could have done more for his team.

“I try to be at my best every night,” he told TNT Sports. “I think I could have done more for my team. I had a lot of chances and I didn’t score more goals.

“Too many chances. You watch a lot of games and in the Champions League you have to score when you get the chance. It’s difficult when you see the game. What happened is we “We had so many chances to win. In football you can be so much better but don’t win.”

In the end, PSG didn’t need to win, but they will have to go to Dortmund thinking that a win is the minimum they need. After putting in so much effort to pull this result out of the woods, a failure at Dortmund combined with a Newcastle win at St James’ Park will send PSG and Mbappé out, so the main man may have to lead his team to a big result. once again.