On Tuesday, Kylian Mbappé made history by helping Paris Saint-Germain reach the Champions League quarterfinals. He scored two goals and was hailed as the best player in the world. The 25-year-old’s double helped the French team defeat Real Sociedad 2-1 at San Sebastián, Spain, resulting in an overall 4-1 triumph over the two legs of their round-of-16 matchup. The first goal of the game, which came in the fifteenth minute, was a microcosm of Mbappé’s skill set. He burst down the left side of the pitch, tricked his opponent with some deft footwork, and then lashed the ball across goal and into the bottom corner. His goal was so powerful that it actually broke the net, creating a gap between the post and the net. It was necessary to pause the game while repairs were made.
Moments after the break, Mbappé’s signature goal effectively ended the match and extended PSG’s lead for the evening. With a ball over the top, the French sensation broke free down the left and tricked Alejandro Remiro in the goal. Even if Real Sociedad had some solace with a late goal from Mikel Merino, the focus of the evening was Mbappé and his outstanding performance. Mbappé voiced his relief at moving on to the next round of the Champions League as PSG confirmed their ticket to the round of eight. “We’re overjoyed. Winning was as important as qualifying, that was our goal. We were able to score early because we had a defined gameplan. We were under a little strain towards the finish, but not too much,” he remarked following the game. “What I do is [score goals].” It’s what I can do and what I enjoy doing. My role is to support the team in scoring goals and on both the offensive and defensive ends, and I performed admirably today.
Following his game-winning effort, Mbappé received high acclaim from his manager Luis Enrique, who called him the “No. 1 player in the world.” “He’ll contribute 25 assists and 50 goals to whatever team and coach he plays for. Sadly, he won’t be here for a while, so we’ll have to start looking at other teammates,” Enrique said to Canal+ in France. Mbappé currently leads the Champions League scoring charts with six goals, tied with Harry Kane, who also scored two goals on Tuesday night as Bayern Munich advanced to the quarterfinals. Kane is rumored to be leaving the club to join Real Madrid at the end of the season, according to numerous reports citing unnamed sources in February. Erling Haaland, who trails on five goals, had a resounding response when asked which of the three players he would choose to center a team on.
Rio Ferdinand is a former Manchester United and England defender. “Mbappé, I apologize sincerely. They’re all excellent. Really, there’s no right or wrong response here, but Mbappé, man,” he remarked on TNT Sports. “I’d pay to watch him practice every day, let alone watch him compete because he makes things on his own.” At left-back, I can pass the ball to him, and he could score. Anywhere on the field I can pass the ball to him, and he could make anything. Not so much for the other two. Don’t get me wrong, they are excellent. “But Mbappé has that one special quality that would keep me up at night saying, ‘Thank you, God.'” Owen Hargreaves, a former teammate of Ferdinand, concurred and praised Mbappé as one of the game’s greats, drawing analogies between the iconic attackers Ronaldo Nazario and Thierry Henry. In addition, Hargreaves forecast that Mbappé, who is PSG’s all-time top goalscorer and has previously won the World Cup with France, will eventually take home a Ballon d’Or.
