With no Neymar Jr. for Paris Saint-Germain in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash against FC Barcelona, the capital club will rely on Kylian Mbappé to pick up some of the slack on offense.
Since arriving in 2017, Mbappé hasn’t had that hallmark performance in the European competition’s knockout stages.
However, with Neymar out and Les Parisiens trying to exercise some demons at the Camp Nou, the 22-year-old has the opportunity to provide PSG with a positive result. Furthermore, this fixture marks the first time that Mbappé will be playing at the Camp Nou, so what better way to make an excellent first impression.
With all these factors heading into the first leg against Barça, French football journalist Stéphane Bitton expects a lot from Mbappé during his appearance on France Bleu Paris (via Canal Supporters).
“When two of the Fantastic Four are missing, we look towards Kylian Mbappé. We remember that at the UNFP trophies in May 2019, he said he wanted more responsibilities. Well, I want to tell him: “Kylian, now is the time!” Tomorrow a large part of the result will be on Mbappé’s shoulders even if he is not alone on the pitch. He should not be seen as a playmaker but as one who can make a difference at any time,” Bitton said.
“He’s coming back in shape, he’s fine right now. As a reminder, at 22, Lionel Messi had won the Champions League, and Cristiano won it at 23, we are on the right line. On the other hand, neither of them has been world champion, and it has already been done for Kylian Mbappé. So let’s hope that he wins with PSG what he lacks: the Champions League. Tomorrow night, it will be a big meeting, that’s good.”
It will be interesting to see whether Mbappé decides to rely on and trust his teammates to generate offense or feels the need to do the opposite and do it alone, which would be a problem for PSG.
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