The duel between Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain is launched. This Wednesday evening, the Parisians will play their second match of the group stage of the Champions League on the lawn of St James'Park with, in the sights, a second consecutive victory. On Tuesday, Eddie Howe, the coach of the English, and Kieran Trippier spoke to the press, and showed a lot of respect for their opponent.
The former Bournemouth player and coach has also been very clear: he fears Kylian Mbappe. "It's very difficult to face it," he acknowledged. Our defense was solid, our team was efficient. It's never done by one player. I do not believe in individual marking. We have to perform well in our solidarity, reduce spaces and, hopefully, keep the best player in the world quiet. »
Trippier "ready for the challenge" Mbappé
Asked about the qualities of the captain of the Blues, whom he should face on the field given their respective positions, the full-back was more measured than his coach. "Paris has incredible players," he conceded. Mbappe is one of the best in the world, but they have quality all over the pitch. But on a good day, we can hurt anyone. »
This is not the first confrontation between the two men. "I faced him on his debut in Monaco when I was at Tottenham," he recalled. I also played against him with England a few years ago. He's a fantastic player. I am ready for this challenge. I've played against a lot of really good wingers and it won't be any different tomorrow. »
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Eddie Howe insists on playing without the ball
Kieran Trippier did not hesitate to deliver a little anecdote: his son is a big fan of Kylian Mbappé. "I joked with him last night," he said. He wants to go out with him tomorrow night and not with me! I'm not happy! I told him that if he was going out with him, he shouldn't look at me in the tunnel! »
The Paris striker is not the only threat to Newcastle, however. Asked about the qualities of Paris Saint-Germain, Eddie Howe focused on what his team must put in place to hope to win. "Part of our challenge is to do our job properly in terms of playing without the ball," he said. We have to find the right balance. In our last series of games, we had a very good performance in the phases without possession of the ball. »
