Announced forfeit for this match two weeks ago, Kylian Mbappé entered during the game and scored twice. His two goals were disallowed, but he allowed PSG to believe in it until the end.
A thrill runs through the Parc des Princes, partly emptied of its supporters who have gone to the bar at half-time: Kylian Mbappé appears on the lawn. His entry into play is imminent as Paris Saint-Germain were suffocated by Bayern Munich in the first half of the knockout stages of the Champions League (0-1) on Tuesday February 14. For a few minutes, Presnel Kimpembe has been warming up while his teammates are in the locker room. Kylian Mbappé joins him to do some shopping.
The thrill turns to clamor when he enters the game, in the 57th minute, moments after the opener for Bayern Munich. The appearance of Kylian Mbappé on the lawn is a small feat: two weeks ago, when he injured his thigh in Montpellier in Ligue 1, PSG announced his withdrawal for this first leg. “We worked day and night. I wasn’t supposed to play, but I wanted to help my friends”will specify the French international at the microphone of Canal + after the match.
Absent from the pre-match warm-up
His presence is all the more surprising since Mbappé stayed in the locker room and did not participate in the pre-match warm-up, to the chagrin of the supporters present in the stands. With Mbappé on the lawn, hope is reborn. But the first races of the Blues striker are hesitant: Mbappé is not 100%, that’s for sure, but is he able to make the difference? His first two balloons are lost and the idea that the prodigy of Bondy is able to do everything on his own is gradually dwindling.
Until this deep race where Mbappé finds his legs and stumbles on Yann Sommer, the goalkeeper of Bayern Munich (73rd). In the process, his surface fox goal was refused for an obvious offside. The next, that of the 82nd minute on his second goal of the evening, is much less so and comes to condition the Parc des Princes which was only expecting a goal from its number 7.
After this canceled goal, Mbappé did not despair and harangued the Park supporters with his arms. But no other opportunity will present itself to him. Nothing to worry about before the return match on March 8 in Munich. “We have a disadvantage but we have seen that we are capable of putting them in difficulty. (…) With what I’ve seen, there’s room for return”, will ensure the number 7 of PSG, on Canal + after the meeting. And to slip, a little later: “Today I only had thirty minutes to give, now I’m going to recover well to try to be as efficient as possible.“
Bayern are warned
The entry into play of Mbappé in any case served as a warning to Bayern Munich before the return match, that the PSG striker should play in full. Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann had to answer several questions about Mbappé at a press conference after the match. “Kylian Mbappé can change any game“, he acknowledged.
On the lawn, at the end of 90 minutes, Mbappé for his part accompanied certain teammates at the foot of the Auteuil stand to thank the supporters for their support. The capo of Collectif Ultra Paris then launched a message of sacred union: “We have to believe it, we will go to Munich to qualify“. A message heard by competitor Mbappé: “You have to play with what you have in your pants to go and win the qualification there”, he warned. He took a risk playing this game so soon after his injury. The bet almost worked. It didn’t take long.