“Kylian Mbappé is the solution to everything, it’s the number one danger”, estimated Wednesday March 9 on franceinfo Bixente Lizarazu, world champion in 1998, football consultant for franceinfo. This Wednesday evening, PSG faces Real Madrid in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Kylian Mbappé will be present. The PSG striker suffered a blow to the left foot on Monday in training. The clinical examinations being good, he can therefore play. The return of the boss “change everything”.
franceinfo: Kylian Mbappé will be on the pitch. Does this change anything?
Bixente Lizarazu: This changes everything because he is the solution to everything. He showed in the first leg his speed, his ability to dribble all the defenses because at the moment he is in great shape and has great confidence. This is the number one danger. The fact that he is on the pitch is a game-changer and I think there is no problem with the blow he received in training.
Is it worrying that PSG is so dependent on one player?
Yes, we can worry about that. We can worry about a day without Kylian Mbappé which means that the collective does not compensate, we can also worry about the lack of consistency of PSG which lost in the league in Nantes, in Nice, and which shows different faces from one week to the next. Fortunately in the Champions League it is rather the best of PSG that we see. In the first leg, they were very good and tonight they have to be at that level.
Lionel Messi hasn’t always lived up to expectations since joining PSG. What do you think ?
I see him better physically in his accelerations, his races, but he still has trouble finding his place within the Parisian collective. In Barcelona, the game revolved around Lionel Messi which is not the case in Paris where there is Mbappé, Neymar. For now, it’s not the Messi we saw in Barcelona, but it’s an important game for him and he can also make a difference. PSG can count on Mbappé but also on Messi who will want to show that he is still the best player in history.
What would be the consequences of a defeat?
The consequences would be catastrophic. They missed the Champions Trophy, the Coupe de France, it is not enough to be satisfied with the championship. We are talking about football, there is nothing serious, but compared to the ambition of PSG this poses certain problems. There has been a big recruitment and PSG must have a very good run in the Champions League. So it wouldn’t be very serious.