In football more than elsewhere, everything goes very quickly. And a little more at Paris Saint-Germain. The club, which remained on three consecutive draws in all competitions, had the opportunity, Sunday, October 16, to consolidate its lead a little more at the top of Ligue 1. It is done after the short 1-0 success against Marseille, in the “classic” of the championship, thus relegating its rival to six points, after eleven days. But this success quickly fell into the background after the final whistle, when Kylian Mbappé appeared in the mixed zone facing the microphones.
Decisive passer on the only goal of the match scored by Neymar, the “pivot” of the capital has been announced throughout the week on departure from the next winter transfer window in January 2023in particular for broken promises concerning the sports project.
A hypothesis maintained and nourished by the revelations of Mediapart, according to which the PSG has set up a digital army aimed at discrediting certain players on social networks, including Kylian Mbappé. The latter wanted to make things clear about his supposed inclinations, brought to light before the Champions League meeting against Benfica Lisbon on Tuesday, October 11.
“I am very happy here”
“I never asked for my departure in January. I did not understand the information that came out on the day of the match. I am not directly or indirectly involved in this info. (…) I was at siesta and my entourage was at my little brother’s game. It’s completely wrong and I’m very happy here », assures the player who extended his contract in May 2022 for two seasonswith an optional third.
An intervention supposed to bring down the pressure and appease an increasingly burning extra-sporting context between the star and the Parisian staff, the boss of PSG, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, in the lead. Kylian Mbappé also claims to have had no conversation with his president. “I just saw him before the game. He wished us luck.” he said laconically.
Complementarity found with Neymar
The second development of the evening went without saying: Mbappé and Neymar showed a rediscovered technical relationship, culminating with the decisive pass of the first for the second. A goal celebrated with a hug and angry faces. Enough to defeat the idea of a sporting disunity between the two biggest transfers in the history of football, despite the “Penaltygate” affair against Montpellier at the start of the season – when Neymar had toasted politeness to Mbappé.
Christophe Galtier had urged the press and his troops to focus on the athlete. The technician was served by his two stars. One-touch play, sharp passes, and well-chosen combinations: each has refined their football to serve the other.
And if everything was not perfect in the second period, – thanks to the solidity of OM which strongly upset the Parisian precision mechanics – Neymar and Mbappé tried to make themselves available, often looking for each other. If we are far from the mutual bows displayed in front of the press and on the networks between the two players a few years ago, the copy displayed against Olympique de Marseille on Sunday evening shows that the PSG institution can still count on the professionalism of its two stars.
“When you play at PSG, you know what you’re getting into. You know what it’s going to entail for good and bad. You have to be ready and everyone who comes here knows it, summarized Kylian Mbappé. We’re in the middle of it right now, but we’re focused on winning games and winning titles. »