A heavy silence made the press gallery shudder when Kylian Mbappé had difficulty getting up, in the 83rd minute of Metz-PSG (1-3), this Saturday in L1.
After a shock with Metz midfielder Habib Maiga, the French striker first came back limping.
Then he came out, replaced by Julian Draxler, raising fears of the worst four days from the highly anticipated clash at the Park against Manchester City in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League.
More fear than harm a priori.
"He received a blow to the thigh," said Mauricio Pochettino after the meeting.
We hope it's nothing serious.
He is calm and quiet.
A crutch is always painful.
We hope all will be well.
"
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When leaving the enclosure, the attacker appeared without accessories, cap on his head, not light enough.
He was the last Parisian to climb on the coach heading to the capital and seemed relaxed when he climbed the few steps leading him to his seat.
PSG have every reason to believe that their exit at the end of the match will not have an impact on their participation on Wednesday against City.
A lot of good news when you know the importance of Bondy's child for his team.
Even more since Pochettino installed it in peak.
Consistent at the tip of the attack
It is certainly not a great find. Kylian Mbappé has already played 9, he can take on these functions. But never, finally, he had found such regularity in his performances by being aligned alone in point. A success for Pochettino and his staff. Because, if Moise Kean and Mauro Icardi can replace him in a center-forward role, the top scorer in L1 (who has just scored his 24th and 25th goals) is proving at the moment that he is the center-forward n ° 1 of the PSG. He had already demonstrated it during the double confrontation against Bayern by signing, in particular, a double in the first leg.
This Saturday, at the Saint-Symphorien stadium, Mbappé was once again sparkling. From the 5th minute, for the 1-0, his speed allowed him to drop Kiki Kouyaté. He then continued with a control of the chest and a break that left no chance for Alexandre Oukidja. In the 59th minute, the former Monegasque stood out again by taking advantage of an offering from the unfortunate Centonze to explode the arms of goalkeeper Oukidja (1-2). Three shots, two goals to his credit. And the second, from outside the surface. Rather rare for the French international who knew how to seize the opportunity. “Kylian is a complete player, with a lot of qualities. He is able to score with his right foot, with his left foot, from the inside as well as from the outside, ”Pochettino recalled at a press conference.
By signing his 12th double of the season, Kylian Mbappé was full of confidence before Manchester City. As a precaution, he will pass through the doctor's hands to make sure that his thigh pain is only a distant memory. Which already seems to be the case.
