Sports
KYLIAN Mbappe refused to discuss his Paris Saint-Germain future following their Champions League round-of-16 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Mbappe was kept in check by the Bayern defence in the 2-0 second-leg loss that saw PSG lose the tie 3-0 on aggregate and exit at the round of 16 for the fifth time in the last seven years.
When asked about his future with PSG following this season, the World Cup winner with France was noncommittal beyond this year.
“No, no, I’m calm. The only thing that matters to me this season is to win now Ligue 1 and then we’ll see,” Mbappe told reporters after the game. “At the moment, I’m only talking about this season. Nothing else matters to me. We are disappointed.”
Mbappe also credited the quality of his opposition and suggested that Bayern were a side better suited to go all the way in European competition.
“Bayern have a great team, a great squad, they have a team that is built to win the Champions League,” Mbappe added. “I said it at the start of the season during the first press conference that we were going to do our best.
“Our maximum is this. That’s the truth. We need to do some self-reflection and return to our daily life which is Ligue1.”
Mbappe’s PSG coach Christophe Galtier agreed with his star player about the disappointing nature of their defeat, but made the case that things could have gone the other way for his Ligue 1 leading side.
“It’s a big disappointment,” Galtier said. “We have to deal with it and accept it. There’s a lot of disappointment in the dressing room.
“I don’t know if it’s a lesson to be learned, but there’s a lot of frustration. If we’d scored first, it would have been different, but we didn’t.”
PSG made a strong start and Mbappe had an early opportunity before Lionel Messi went close with a double chance of his own in the 25th minute.
“We didn’t open the scoring when we had the chance,” Galtier said. “We did well in the first half, we felt we could match our opponents, but we didn’t put away our chances.”
Instead it was Bayern who opened the scoring when Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting tapped-in in the 61st minute before a late second goal from Serge Gnabry sealed the Bavarians’ spot in the quarterfinals.
“We conceded what was a really stupid first goal at this level,” Galtier said. “Yes, there was pressure from Bayern, but sometimes you mustn’t be ashamed to play it long to get over the pressing. When you’re behind after an hour’s play, it’s difficult.”
His team’s latest European failure adds pressure on Galtier, who also refused to speculate on his future at the club.
“We have to swallow it. It is too soon to talk about my future,” Galtier added. “I’m focused to the end of the season with a lot of energy and determination.”
-Arise News
KN
Tags: Bayern Munich Champions League Christophe Galtier Kylian Mbappe
