PSG: 2022, another record year for Mbappé… 2023 already in sight

In the joy of Kylian Mbappé after scoring the penalty for victory against Strasbourg (2-1), Wednesday evening, after additional time, there was a lot of emotion linked to the terrible outcome of the World Cup .

But for the record-hungry striker, that small goal had two reasons to widen his smile.

It allows him to break two of his records in the jersey of PSG over a calendar year: those of the number of goals scored in Ligue 1 (32) and all competitions combined (44).

In the league, in 2022, Mbappé does better than his 31 goals in 2019. But he remains below Edinson Cavani (36 goals in 2017) and Carlos Bianchi (35 goals in 1978).

All competitions combined, he exceeds his 2021 total, but without joining Cavani and his 50 goals in 2017.

This last goal of the year, his 56th in 56 games – 44 with Paris and 12 with the France team – therefore embellishes the 24-year-old player's business card and gives additional shine to a year that has none. was obviously already not missing since his performance in Qatar.

And which had begun with the cry from the heart of a supporter of FC Vannes, on January 3, during the 32nd final of the Coupe de France, when the child of Bondy entered the warm-up: “Mbappé , no goal!

“That evening, a hat-trick from the Parisian had set the tone and launched his year 2022.

Cavani's 200 goals in sight

Of course, the magnitude of these figures could have been greater if Paris had passed the stage of the knockout stages of the Champions League.

But Mbappé is not one to rewrite history.

He prefers to do it and 2023 should, as such, allow him to shine his name a little more.

The question is no longer whether the record of 200 goals scored by Cavani in the Parisian jersey will fall into his hands, but when?

After 238 games with PSG, Mbappé has 191 goals.

"Being the top scorer in the history of PSG, you can't spit on it," he said in February when he had just joined Ibrahimovic's 156 goals and was not yet certain to extend. .

He added on the prospect of these 200 goals to be achieved: “I always made sure to be number one so you have to keep trying to get it.

But it's not obsession either.

The obsession is still the titles.

“A collective philosophy that he again made his own on Wednesday evening when commenting on his successful penalty.

With 132 achievements in the Parisian jersey in Ligue 1, Kylian Mbappé could quickly join Edinson Cavani and his 138 league goals.

LP/Frederic Dugit

From Sunday in Lens, Mbappé will be able to approach other records such as that of the number of goals scored by a Parisian in Ligue 1. With 132 achievements, he melts on Cavani (138).

This season, Mbappé already has 13 league goals.

But he must therefore not weaken if he wants to do better than his 33 goals in 2018-2019.

That's good, Mbappé likes nothing more than difficulty and high challenges.

The twelve months that have just passed, from Vannes to Strasbourg, have in any case filled a little more the legend of a 24-year-old kid who already has 254 goals in his career.

Long live 2023.