At the Parc des Princes,
We won’t go so far as to call it redemption, but the copy rendered by Kylian Mbappé against Rennes, Wednesday evening, four days after having made a big unwelcome roll after his premature exit at the Vélodrome, helped to calm everyone down. Until the ultras of the Collectif Ultras Paris who, having barely tasted the moods of the Kyks on Sunday on Instagram, did not hesitate to whistle his name when the team composition was announced? Maybe not.
For that, we will have to do much more and shine next week in this same Parc des Princes against FC Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League. If the Auteuil turn will therefore wait and see, the rest of the Park appreciated and praised the performance of its only scorer on Wednesday evening.
Better after three complicated weeks
After three more than ordinary matches – two with the Blues, the other during the classic against Marseille – the Parisian number 7 has regained some of his magical fluidity, his lightning acceleration and his accuracy with the ball at his feet. Like Omari’s drop-off on the left side of the Rennes defense which will force the defender to hang his jersey on him and offer the Parisians a penalty.
Bad luck for Kyky, Mandanda made a classy save, pushing back the deadline but only by a few minutes. On an opening from Fabian Ruiz, Mbappé put Omari in the sauce again and opened the scoring with a lucky blocked shot. Joy was restrained, arms in the air as if to apologize for his missed penalty.
Available and less stubborn in wanting to make the difference than in recent weeks, the Parisian goal machine seems to be (re) gaining momentum before the big European meeting against Barça. If he came across a Mandanda in a state of grace on multiple occasions, at least he managed to create big chances, like these two pralines diverted by the former OM goalkeeper (53rd and 58th).
A Mandanda who, if not turning into a hero of the evening on the Breton side, will at least have avoided the hassle of his teammates. “Steve had a great match. He confirms that he is in a very strong time, he is very efficient, decisive. He is largely responsible for our recovery, through his attitude, what he gives off, his leadership, Julien Stéphan also made a point of emphasizing after the match. At his age, closer to the end than the beginning, but he is still far from the end, he is one of the top goalkeepers in Ligue 1.”
A well-established collective but still dependent on Mbappé
But let’s get back to our not grumpy sheep. Without having had the match of his life, Kylian Mbappé showed a lot of desire, to the point of taking two defensive sprints to return to tackle Rennes’ feet, recover the ball and make spectators unaccustomed to seeing him lower himself to their feet. this kind of dirty work usually reserved for the common people.
After several days of having to explain the moods of his player in Marseille, Luis Enrique preferred on Wednesday to highlight the collective performance of his team, against a Rennes team which, it must be said, did not have either more does little to thwart his plans. “I liked everything about it tonight, to play a complete match against Rennes, we were able to control them, to dominate the transitions, not to concede any chances despite their qualities, we were in control at all times. Even when we lost the ball, we recovered it quickly,” he explained.
As for the players, only Lucas Hernandez showed up in the mixed zone, PSG communication deigning to let us ask him a few questions in less than two minutes flat. And he also wanted to put the collective performance in the spotlight, ensuring that PSG “continues to gain momentum to arrive at this match against Barcelona in the best possible way”.
A Kyky always there to pay the bill
If the Parisian collective has indeed shown itself to be solid from start to finish and rather coherent in its expression, we can only note on the other hand that it is still and always Mbappé who makes the opponents spit in the basin. Like against Real Sociedad a month ago now.
As long as Ousmane Dembélé continues to spoil the wonderful differences he makes on the ball with a dirty finish, that Ramos and Kolo Muani have so little playing time and that Kang-In Lee, starting on Wednesday, will not do anything else serving as a vulgar serving hatch without ever attempting anything destabilizing, Mbappé remains the essential link in this team.
He can therefore continue to sulk as he pleases and place his ego above the collective since, and he knows it, it is still him until proven otherwise who holds the key to the destiny of PSG this season in the matches that count. This is also what means that anger is not yet brewing (too much) against him, after his escapades in Monaco and Marseille. For it to last, we will have to do even better during the double confrontation against Barça also in search of redemption.