Mbappé witnessed the victory against Lens in the stands of the Parc des Princes. – Thibault Camus / AP / SIPA
Scorer Kylian Mbappé, uncertain due to a contracture in the right calf, appears well in the group of Paris SG who will challenge Manchester City in the semi-final second leg of the Champions League on Tuesday after the 2-1 defeat in the first leg, announced his club on Monday.
If the star striker missed the victory of PSG against Lens (2-1) on Saturday in the Championship, his coach Mauricio Pochettino declared himself “optimistic” about his participation facing the “Sky Blues”. “We assess it on a day-to-day basis. I think he will be able to play, ”said the Argentinian technician.
Kylian # Mbappé arrived at Le Bourget airport. He will fly with the rest of the squad to Manchester this morning. #MCIPSG pic.twitter.com/3cD0DEqpUT
– The Parisian | PSG (@le_Parisien_PSG) May 3, 2021
A disturbing video 36 hours before the match
On a video shot by our colleagues from Le Parisien at Le Bourget airport, le Bondynois appears clearly limping, which leaves the doubt on his real physical state a little more than 24 hours before the meeting. It can also look like a little bluff, since Mbappé would suspect that his arrival would be scrutinized by journalists. During the 2018 World Cup, the French staff had asked him to hide his temporary disability on his back (he had blocked three vertebrae) before the semi-final so as not to alert the Belgians to a possible failure in the semi-final .
Apart from the Mbappé uncertainty, “Poche” has an almost complete workforce, only the side Juan Bernat, long injured in a knee, missing. PSG crosses the Channel on Monday with a group of 25 players, including midfielder Idrissa Gueye, excluded in the first leg. Although suspended, the Senegalese will be traveling within the Parisian delegation.