Paris SG qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in three years by dominating Real Sociedad a second time (2-1), thanks in particular to Kylian Mbappé who responded to tensions with his coach with a spectacular double. Eliminated twice in a row at the round of 16 stage against two major Europeans, Real Madrid in 2022 and Bayern Munich in 2023, PSG will return to the continental top 8 for the first time since its good run in 2021 (semi-finals). ).
The first leg won 2-0 by the Parisians and the slump experienced by Real Sociedad in Spain had been partly overshadowed by the recent tensions between coach Luis Enrique and Kylian Mbappé. Luis Enrique had chosen the period of strong exposure of his superstar in recent weeks, with the announcement to his leaders of his departure next summer, to assert his leadership of the team. He had significantly reduced his playing time in the last three matches, saying he wanted to “get used to playing without Kylian Mbappé”.
Luis Enrique wasn’t happy? “Double,” Mbappé seemed to respond Tuesday evening. The captain of the Blues, who wore the armband for PSG also in the absence of Marquinhos in the starting 11, very quickly proved that these shocks had not affected his determination and his desire. From the 15th minute, launched on the left side of the Basque penalty area by Ousmane Dembélé, Mbappé managed to refocus before unleashing a surgical strike into the small opposite net with a suddenness of which he has the secret. And this despite the presence of two defenders in front of him.
The scenario was ideal for PSG, now with a three-goal lead. From then on, the pressure that Real Sociedad tried to put on as in the first half of the first leg seemed lighter. And the central hinge of the two Lucas, Hernandez and Beraldo, aligned because Marquinhos and Danilo were too tight physically, worked well. Unlike Ousmane Dembélé’s slightly lower positioning than usual, which increased the inaccuracies and ball losses.
Warnings
A beautiful collective sequence from Real Sociedad in the 37th minute reminded us that the Basques had finished first in their group ahead of Inter Milan, awakening the supporters to the blue and white banner. Before the restart, the PSG players formed a circle in the center of the field to show their solidarity and definitively chase away the demons that have too often assailed PSG when it came to maintaining a result in Europe: against Barcelona in 2017 ( 4-0; 1-6), Manchester United in 2019 (2-0; 1-3) and Real Madrid in 2022 (1-0; 1-3).
The rite worked and invoked a second magic trick from Kylian Mbappé. The attacker, served by a bright pass from Lee Kang-In that Luis Enrique had just brought in, crucified Alejandro Remiro. The goalkeeper had anticipated the far post as for the first goal but Mbappé used his “special” to torpedo the ball at the near post (2-0, 56th).
From there, too relaxed, PSG took the lead with several big chances for Real Sociedad. A goal was narrowly disallowed for offside. And the Basques sometimes missed the inevitable, like Zubimendi alone at six meters (75th). But the Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma also made a Dantesque save from close range (77th).
Finally, Real Sociedad scored a deserved goal near stoppage time by Mikel Merino (89th). So many warnings for PSG who will undoubtedly not be able to afford such a gap in the quarter-finals. But the main part of the evening was elsewhere and the Parisians exulted at the final whistle, going to greet their approximately 1,700 supporters parked behind a glass, at the top of the Anoeta stadium.
As for Kylian Mbappé and Luis Enrique, the evening scenario is likely to reconcile them. They had a frank hug after the match. The player assured Canal+ that he had “no problem” with the coach, who seemed to give in: “We don’t manage Mbappé, he manages himself.”