Kylian Mbappé is not likely to stay in Paris for much longer, but he still makes Paris Saint-Germain a formidable team as long as he wears their jersey.
The French star proved it on Tuesday, as he netted two brilliant goals in a 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad that sent PSG to the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since 2021.
“We knew right away that we couldn’t go to sleep,” Mbappé said after the match. “If they had opened the scoring, they would have pushed on with their fans’ backing. We had to dampen their hopes early on.
“That’s what we did, and we’re very happy to be back in the quarterfinals.”
PSG secured a 4-1 aggregate victory, with Mbappé contributing one of the goals in the first leg’s 2-0 triumph in Paris three weeks ago. According to ESPN, Mbappé has already informed PSG that he will leave the club at the end of this season, and a transfer to Real Madrid seems inevitable.
Despite spending heavily to pursue their first Champions League title, PSG had suffered five eliminations in the last 16 in the past seven seasons, including the previous two. They had reached the semifinals in 2021 and were finalists in 2020.
“We wanted to qualify, but we also wanted to win,” Mbappé said. “We had a game plan that was clear, and we managed to score early. We didn’t come under too much pressure, just a little at the end.”
Mbappé had failed to score in his previous two games, both draws against Rennes and AS Monaco, and was replaced before the end in each of them. ESPN sources reported that the PSG star was unhappy with Luis Enrique’s decisions.
However, Mbappé played the full 90 minutes against Sociedad, where he was the hero, and dismissed any rift with his coach after the match.
“There is no problem with him even if people think there is a problem,” Mbappé said. “I have problems, but the coach is not one of them.”
Luis Enrique put it even more succinctly: “I don’t have any problem with any player.”
“He can score 50 goals and give 25 assists with any coach,” the PSG coach added. “For me he is the best player in the world in the final third, unstoppable. Today he also showed he can hold the ball when the game situation required it and then attack the open field.”
With his two strikes against Sociedad, Mbappé became the second-youngest player to reach 45 Champions League goals in group stage and knockout play at 25 years and 76 days. Lionel Messi reached that mark at 24 years and 257 days, and Mbappé now stands at 46 goals.