A few hours before the start of the match, the announcement by several media of the desire to leave the prodigy of Bondy had the effect of a bomb.

In a context that suddenly became hot, it took nerves of steel to launch an assault on the Portuguese club, the most formidable opponent in Group H.

Admittedly, PSG football adviser Luis Campos had tried to clear the ground by denying any desire to transfer Mbappé just before the game, barely five months after his resounding contract extension until 2025. But the situation seemed to be all right. even flammable.

Finally, Paris did not lose control but came out very frustrated from this shock and will still have to wait before validating their ticket for the knockout phase as they have been used to since 2013.

In front of an audience ultimately far from being as rebellious as it was feared towards Mbappé, PSG lacked consistency and total mastery of its subject, its cute sin for several weeks.

Paris, however, thought it had done the hardest part after Mbappé's penalty just before the break (39th) following a foul in the box by Antonio Silva on Juan Bernat.

With this 31st goal in C1 in Parisian colours, "Kyky" becomes the club's best director in the Champions League, one unit ahead of Uruguayan Edinson Cavani.

Suspense for 1st place

But Christophe Galtier's players ruined everything and were finally caught up by their current limits, also being penalized with a completely avoidable penalty, after an overly strong tackle from Marco Verratti on Rafa Silva, converted by Joao Mario (65th) .

Benfica midfielder Joao Mario, about to score his team's equalizing penalty against PSG in the Champions League, on October 11, 2022 in Paris.

Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP

The work is therefore not yet finished for PSG, which will have two more matches to try to obtain its ticket for the round of 16 and even the precious first place in the group, against Maccabi Haifa, on October 25 at the Parc des Princes, and Juventus Turin, on November 2 in Italy.

Just before welcoming the Marseille enemy to Ligue 1 on Sunday, this draw is not particularly reassuring and has not chased away the bad vibes, even if Neymar's teammates have preserved their invincibility, all competitions combined.

Deprived of Lionel Messi, hit in the calf last week in Lisbon, Paris was not very sovereign in the game, especially at the start of the game.

Pablo Sarabia, who had the heavy responsibility of replacing him in attack, thus had all the trouble in the world to win and to make people forget the genius of Argentina's "La Pulga".

More worrying, the PSG did not have a lot of opportunities to get their teeth into, except on a few in-depth tumbles from Mbappé (8th, 21st, 45th + 1), who could also have afforded a double in the second half on a curled strike of which he has the secret (52nd).

Too insufficient in any case to destabilize the tough Benfica, who maintained the suspense for obtaining the leading position in Pool H.

© 2022 AFP