The classification of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League was not without controversy between coach Luis Enrique and his main figure, Kylian Mbappé. The current Ligue 1 champion consummated his ticket after the 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund thanks to Newcastle’s defeat against Milan in England, but the striker’s annoyance at an order from his leader triggered the conflict.
At a press conference, the Spanish coach was asked about this situation, after he had asked the team to lower the intensity in the final minutes of the match because with the draw PSG was managing to advance to the round, but with a defeat they would be eliminated. “It would have been very ridiculous to concede a goal in the 88th minute for taking risks. Very ridiculous. “It was a very good decision, taken at a time of maximum tension, and when there is maximum tension you can make a mistake, but in this case it was a great success.”
The former Spain coach in the Qatar World Cup pointed out that despite the criticism he has received, he is the one in charge in the locker room: “I am the one who gives all the orders in the team and it was one of the best decisions of my career.” sporty. With Milan winning 2-1 against Newcastle, I told my players: ‘Hey, we don’t have to take so many risks anymore.’ We have to try to score a goal, of course, we continue, and if you see them from the 88th minute we were in the Dortmund area two or three times.”
“From here on, I understand the players and I understand that they are exposed to emotions. It is logical. “They are playing,” he commented after the French media RMC Sport echoed Mbappé’s cold greeting. The thing is that Kiki showed discomfort with the approach because he wanted to win the match to secure first place in Group F and, in this way, he could avoid facing major rivals such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City or Barcelona in the round of 16. .
PSG was equal on points with Milan (8), but advanced among the 16 best in Europe due to the advantage in direct crosses within the group. Newcastle came last (5) and Borussia Dortmund finished top (11).
Luis Enrique’s acid response established a new counterpoint with his scorer. Previously, the coach had made a series of criticisms for the footballer’s sacrifice on the field after scoring three goals in the 3-0 victory against Reims: “I am not happy with Kylian Mbappé. I have nothing to say about the goals, but he can help the team in other ways. I’ll talk to him about it first, but they’re private conversations. Kylian is one of the best players in the world, but we want more. “We want him to do more things.”
PSG will defend the top of Ligue 1 this Sunday against Lille. Currently, they have 36 points and are four points ahead of Nice, which lost this Saturday against Le Havre. Mbappé is the top scorer in the championship by a wide margin thanks to his 15 goals and Akor Adams, from Montpellier, is his main pursuer with just seven goals.