SportsIs Kylian Mbappe The New King Of The Champions League?

Is Kylian Mbappe The New King Of The Champions League?

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BEVERLY HILLS, April 08, (THEWILL) – There are no teams too big and no stage too grand to be spared the Kylian Mbappe treatment. That was the message the Frenchman delivered with equanimity on Wednesday night, when his side, Paris Saint-Germain, travelled to the Allianz Arena in Munich to deal the Bavarian champions, Bayern Munich, their first loss on their home grounds in 32 consecutive matches in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-finals battle.

Mbappe, who stunned La Liga bigwigs Barcelona with a hattrick in the last 16 stage in his previous away game scored a brace in the blustery, snowy conditions in Munch to help PSG edge the exhilarating clash against Bayern 3-2 and leave the current holders staring at a Champions League exit after being considered favourites throughout.

In an end-to-end first period, PSG were clinically efficient making the best use of the only two shots they had the opportunity to have as compared to a wasteful Bayern that in the absence of their goal machine Robert Lewandowski and the gifted Serge Gnabry, let 14 of the 15 shots they registered in the same half go to waste.

Mbappe was on hand to take advantage of the first chance created by the very industrious Brazilian Neymar and opened the scoring after only 149 seconds to sound a clear warning to their hosts but which Hans-Dieter Flick’s charges failed to heed. It was the earliest goal Bayern had conceded in the knockout stages of the Champions League since Wayne Rooney scored after 63 seconds in March 2010. PSG’s Marquinhos made it two after another brilliant set up by the man Neymar again, just before the half-hour mark.

It was going to be an uphill task for the Bavarian side going against the French champions. In the unusual August 2019/2020 UCL Final when these same teams contested the last match for the trophy, there was only one goal to separate them, a testament to how tight the encounter was. However, without the injured Lewandowski and with the COVID-19 sidelining of a player of Gnabry’s pedigree, the stakes were raised against the hosts and in favour of PSG, a circumstance that Mbappe exploited in his favour.

Standing in Lewandowski’s place, the former Stoke and PSG hitman Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting made his presence felt by heading his side back into the contest eight minutes before the break, which was the only time Bayern applied themselves to using one of all the chances they were creating. In a more determined second half, where Bayern stepped it up a gear, Thomas Muller celebrated in his typical wide-eyed fashion when he levelled the scores things after an hour of football.

The superb Mbappe was going to have the last laugh still to demonstrate how much he revelled the grandest performances on the grandest stages. He ensured all the points for the visitors with a brilliant 68th minute strike to restore their lead that they held on to until the final whistle. It was his eighth Champions League goal of a stellar season to raise his stock yet further and put his side in the control of their fortunes of progressing to the semi-finals.

His second goal of the night took the UCL goal haul to 27 for the 22-year-old, who may be far away from the current record of Champions League goals, which stands at 134 and is held by the King of the Champions League himself, Cristiano Ronaldo. However, with Ronaldo not going past the last 16 in three consecutive seasons, Mbappe has quickly grown his stock to occupy the space vacated and take the mantle for himself.

Even though Mbappe will deservedly get most of the plaudits for his performance on the night, Neymar had as much right to some praise especially for a display as he produced on Wednesday night. Since his debut in the 2013/2014 UCL campaign, Neymar has assisted 25 goals in the Champions League, the most of any player in that timeframe. His ability to rise to the occasion and put on dazzling displays like he did in Munich with two defence-splitting passes, tells of the sheer class of the Brazilian.

But, Mbappe was the standout player. The calmness of his delivery, especially the unbridled quality of the match-winning goal, bore all the sublimity of a striker knowing his onions, who takes pleasure in his craft. It has made it easy to arrive at the conclusion that, for the 22-year-old, the bigger the occasion, the better he performs. And, because of him, Bayern, who entered Wednesday unbeaten in their last 32 matches at the Allianz Arena, lost to PSG.

Mbappe’s brace and the goal from Marquinhos leave Bayern needing to score twice without reply in Paris next week to keep their chances of successfully defending their title in tact. Although the serial German winners have proven that they can score without Lewandowski, the question is, can they do it while keeping PSG at bay? With Mbappe showing he is ready to go against the best of the best and come out ahead?

There is only a week from now to find out.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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