Updated Tuesday, March 5, 2024-23:15
Direct This was the duel between Real and PSG
Mbappé
does not want
to imagine life at
PSG
without him.
Not yet.
The countdown has begun and the end seems written, but the Frenchman is working hard to prepare the
big farewell party
.
He does not want to leave Paris without having fulfilled the almost divine mission that has been entrusted to him.
Winning the Champions League as the best therapy to kill the sorrows
.
Even
Luis Enrique
, who is rehearsing the future without him while dominating the French league, knows that he cannot deprive him of the last dance in the Champions League.
And not only out of loyalty, but out of pure selfishness.
Impossible to do without a huge footballer who imposes his law.
Against
Real Sociedad
, PSG catapulted on its back to the quarterfinals.
[
Narrative and statistics
]
The Parisian team did not need anything more either in the Parc des Princes or in the Reale to stop the shameless Basques and they were sentenced before they even began to draw.
If anyone expected Real to make people uncomfortable like they did in Paris, they were wrong
.
He wanted to and couldn't for a second.
Without the ball and without a way to trap the opponent in his pressure, he was left at will.
He had the first chance in a Becker cross to the far post that was looking for Take Kubo
's head
and was saved in an unorthodox way by
Nuno Mendes
, clearly the side where PSG could bleed.
But the people of San Sebastian couldn't find a way to take advantage.
Luis Enrique had set a trap for them from which they could not escape.
Accustomed to placing Mbappé as a center forward, in San Sebastián he returned him to the shore and soon challenged
Traoré with two devilish changes of pace
and searched for an impossible gap for Barcola.
Luckily Remiro showed up.
It was the first indication that
Mbappé, further away from the area, was going to cook and sit at the table
at the same time.
The Asturian coach sought the mobility of
Dembélé
and
Barcola
, exchanging positions almost like insiders to gain superiority in Real's midfield.
A plan that turned out perfectly.
It was the
Mosquito
that launched Mbappé's career.
In two strides he planted himself in the area, cut Zubeldia, unnerved him with just a touch and, on a tile,
he crossed a shot that unraveled the net
.
He was in charge on the field and only 15 minutes had passed in the game.
Real did not raise its head, and not because of the large score of the tie.
The thing is that he didn't know how to react to the game plan that PSG had drawn for him.
In that confusion Remiro appeared again
to save Mbappé's second goal
served on a plate by Barcola.
The slightest mistake by the San Sebastián team turned it into an attack that always went through the boots of their star while Alguacil saw from the sidelines helplessly how his players were a shadow of that firm team in the group stage that defeated Inter.
Real is not at its best.
Their football has thickened just when the seasons are beginning to be decided
.
46 goals in the Champions League at 25 years old
Kubo wanted to undo this argument with a left-footed shot from the edge of the area just before half-time, but nothing changed in the second half.
He once again dominated PSG, who used Kang-In's talent to fuel Mbappé's runs.
It couldn't have taken effect faster.
The Korean's ball allowed the captain to beat Zubeldia, helpless, step into the small area and place him with a right foot against Remiro's short post.
It was his 46th goal in Europe's top competition to become, at 25 years old and after
Messi
, the second youngest player to achieve it.
It was also the final blow that buried Real's dream after a decade searching for the Champions League.
Spurred on by the
Txuri Urdin
stands , the San Sebastian team wanted to grow and at least close this tie with a goal on their scoreboard.
The Alguacil changes helped.
Barrenetxea
and Oyarzabal looked for it
, but those closest to it, forcing Donnarumma, were
Zubimendi
and
André Silva
with a shot from point-blank range.
Even youth player Olasagasti dared.
La Real focused on the Italian goalkeeper's goal until
Mikel Merino
scored to give Reale consolation and close a tie that had one owner: Kylian Mbappé.