Mamma mia! Kylian Mbappe shows why PSG striker has the ‘va va voom’ that Real Madrid want - The Warm-Up
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Updated 16/02/2022 at 09:00 GMT
Kylian Mbappe was the match-winner for Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night as Lionel Messi kindly missed a penalty to help his team-mate take the spotlight against Real Madrid, potentially his future club. Elsewhere, Manchester City are going so strongly a Champions League failure this time around could be worse than ever. Oh, and Manchester United won!
Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint Germain (C) celebrating his goal with his teammates during the UEFA Champions League Round Of Sixteen Leg One match between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid
Image credit: Getty Images
WEDNESDAY’S BIG STORIES
Mmm-bappe
If you can’t beat them, get them to join you – that has often been the case down the years in football, and as if Real Madrid needed reminding, they got a glimpse of what Kylian Mbappe could be capable of if he decides to don their white kit next season.
Unfortunately for Real, it was against them on Tuesday night, with Mbappe making up for Lionel Messi’s penalty miss to hand PSG a slender advantage in the pick of the Champions League last-16 ties.
Neymar recorded a tidy backheel assist, but given it fell eight seconds before Mbappe’s effort rustled the net it was all about the Frenchman’s finish.
It certainly went down well with Mr Va Va Voom himself Thierry Henry, who let out a mighty roar during CBS Sports’ coverage alongside knee-touch-mate Jamie Carragher and laughs-a-second Micah Richards.
“This is the type of player... the other day I was speaking to a friend of mine and I was like ‘there's not many people who will make me jump out of my seat or make me scream’,” Henry said.
“This is what you want to see, this is why you put your TV on because you want to see people unlocking something. Let him play, let us enjoy it, what a night, what a goal and I'm sure it won't be the last.”
Seems there’s a new extra-terrestrial in town. The compliment usually given to penalty-misser Messi was this time dished out to Mbappe from Gianluigi Donnarumma, who like the rest of us was a spectator last night given Real did not have a single shot on target.
“Kylian Mbappé… mamma mia!" Donnarumma told Sky Sport. "He’s an alien! He’s incredible. It’s a show with Kylian, on and off the pitch."
The Kylian Show will soon head to the Bernabeu – PSG hope it’s just a one-off in Madrid.
City on fire
The PSG-Real segment opened with an expression of sorts, so here’s another - the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
That certainly seems to be the case for Manchester City this season. They’re flying in the Premier League – they’ll take some stopping them there – and they’ve laid down an early marker in the Champions League knockouts with a massive 5-0 away win against Sporting Lisbon.
However, early markers can often mean little when it comes to the crunch – as City found out in Europe last season – and so the possibility of stumbling at a later stage, again, could be all the more seismic given their stroll in the Portuguese capital last night.
Perhaps that is why Pep Guardiola insists his side can “do better” given there will surely be sterner tests to come in their pursuit of a first Champions League title.
"The players they know me,” the City boss said. “They know that we can do better. There were a few players who still didn't read well what we have to do in terms of build-up. We can do better.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold weighed in too. The Liverpool defender said it was “amazing” City are yet to win the Champions League, suggesting his trophy haul of a Premier League and European Cup is better than their rival’s recent success.
“We don’t feel disappointed that we haven’t won enough trophies as the ones we have won are the biggest and best you can get your hands on,” Alexander-Arnold said.
“Not making any digs but you look at Man City’s amazing team and they haven’t been able to lift the Champions League. They won a couple of Prems but haven’t been able to win the Champions League. We’ve won both over the last few years and it shows you we can do it in both competitions.”
Ronaldo gets Man Utd ‘back on track’
There are more twists in the top-four race than a real twisty object, and now according to Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United are “back on track” in the Premier League. He said so twice, just to hammer home the point.
“Back on track!” he said on Twitter. “Nobody gives up and there’s only one way to get back on track: hard work, team work, serious work. Everything else is just noise. Let’s go Devils!”
Indeed, Ronaldo was back to doing what he does best last night, scoring goals. His opener set United on their way to a 2-0 win over Brighton, and suddenly the Red Devils are back in fourth.
Sure, Arsenal have three games in hand and trail by four points, but points on the board are far better than ones that haven’t been secured, and somehow what has felt like a sorry few weeks for United has resulted in them laying down the marker – which of course seems to change every week. But hey, they’re fourth for now.
IN THE CHANNELS
United fans are loving Anthony Elanga’s early celebration. Sometimes, you just know…
RETRO CORNER
It is 14 years since Liverpool and Inter last met in Europe. Fourteen years since Steven Gerrard did this at Anfield.
What an old colleague would have called a daisy-cutter. Pinpoint precision, never mind the three bounces before if found the far corner.
COMING UP
More glorious Champions League. Tonight it’s the turn of Liverpool as they head to Inter, while Bayern Munich travel to Red Bull Salzburg. Atletico Madrid are also in La Liga action, while there is the Winter Olympics to tuck into on discovery+. Do it.
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