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The author of the hat-trick, Kylian Mbappé, organized a space show and allowed PSG to win on the Barcelona pitch, ”the authors of L’Equipe said aloud.
The Parisians did not lose the two cornerstones of their attacks on Neymaro and Angelio Di Maria on the Camp Nou turf on Tuesday night, unable to compete due to injuries.
Maurice Pochettino’s students, who scored the Barça goal with four accents, destroyed Catalan pride 4: 1 and entered the Champions League quarter-finals with one foot.
Three of the four French goals were scored by Kylian Mbappé, demonstrating his qualities of leadership, speed and precision when hitting the ball in goal.
“Kylian Mbappé has shown how great a player he is,” announced Le Monde.
The fact that Mbappé’s performance at the empty Camp Nou stadium is exceptional is illustrated by the simplest statistical data.
The PSG leader became the ninth player of the rival team in history, 99.7 thousand. places in the Barcelona Stadium with three goals. The Camp Nou opened its doors in 1957, so the average visitor scores a hat-trick every eight years.
Mbappé also became Barcelona’s first three-goal rival to Diego Forlán, who did so in Spain’s 2005 championship match. At the time, Lionel Messi was just 17 years old.
In the Champions League, only three goals were scored twice and both times in 1997 in Barcos’ goal at the Camp Nou. That was done 24 years ago by then-Kiev Dynamo rising star Andriy Shevchenko and Newcastle United striker Faustin Asprilla.
Mbappé’s performance is even more impressive because it was France’s first match in Barcelona: in the previous four seasons, the paths of the Monaco and PSG teams represented by K. Mbappé in the Champions League did not intersect with Barça. By comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo has played at the Camp Nou stadium 17 times, but never scored three goals.
“He’s a top player,” Pochettino said of the student after the victory. – The great protagonists write the story themselves. They improve with each game. This hat-trick will allow Kylian to become the center of attention. “
After a fantastic performance by K. Mbappé, attention was not only attracted by the Frenchman, but also by the Catalan defenders who tried to stop him comically.
It was Gerardo Piqué’s first game after three months of rehabilitation due to injury, and social networks were laughing after the game of Catalonia’s attempts to prevent the French from clinging to his shirt.
“Dear Piqué. If you want a Mbappé jersey, ask for it, “wrote one soccer fan.
It is true that it was not G. Piqué who made a serious mistake when the Frenchman scored the first goal, but his teammate Clement Lenglet in the heart of the Barça defense. He and Sergino Destas, a young American who unsuccessfully caught K. Mbappé in the defensive zone, received the most criticism from fans and soccer experts.
“Mbappé shone today and everyone was happy with his performance,” PSG captain Marquinhos told RMC Sport. – When it shines, it changes parties. We know his level and he brought us victory. As they say, soccer is a team sport, but when a team is strong, individual players can shine.
Even the opponents did not forgive the applause of K. Mbappé. His compatriot Antoine Griezmann, a Barça representative, was left without goals, and after the game he compared his 22-year-old colleague in the French team with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I am happy for him. He has received a lot of criticism, but he has already accepted this when you have been important for some time. As soon as he plays worse, a lot of people criticize him. But I think PSG has a star of the future who will reach the level of Leo and Cristiano. He played wonderful games, “said A. Griezmann.
For his part, K. Mapappe himself received questions after the game not only about his performance, but also about the future, which is surrounded by fog. There has long been speculation about the possibility that the Frenchman will move to Real Madrid, a club with which he sympathizes, after the expiration of the current contract.
AFP / “Scanpix” nuotr./Kylianas Mbappé
“We are very satisfied. It was a very important game. We wanted to come and win, and we did it with incredible style,” said his hero after the game. – We were wonderful today, but we still haven’t won anything. I’m happy, I always want to give all my heart and I never hide in the shadows.
And talking about my future after a game would be stupid. The truth is that I am thinking about long term plans. I’ve always said that I’m happy here, and games like that make me even happier. The PSG jerseys are the ones that I keep very close to my heart ”.
No one could cover it tonight.
The PSG strategists also tried to talk about the future of K. Mbappé.
“He is a world-class forward. No one could cover him tonight. He is a fantastic player who is happy to represent PSG,” stressed Pochettino.
PSG and Barça will play the playoffs in Paris on March 10.
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