FC Barcelona were able to get a great 3-2 result in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals against Paris Saint Germain in Paris, which puts them in a clear state of advantage ahead of the second leg scheduled for the next week.
Ahead of this first leg, one of the main threats that Barcelona were expecting to face was the French forward, Kylian Mbappe. However, the duo of Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo was able to keep the World Cup winner quiet in this match, and Mbappe had a night to forget overall.
As SPORT has noted, the winger’s inability to put his stamp on the match was not taken lightly by the French media, and he faced scathing criticism for his performance from some of the leading publications in his home country.
For instance, L’Equipe, the leading sports journal in France, gave him a rating of only 3 out of 10, and opined Mbappe: “was eagerly awaited and failed to show up”. The publication also noted that: “he couldn’t shake off the marking of Koundé and Araujo.”
Further criticizing his performance, the French news outlet stated: “He even avoided dribbling to favor the uninspired pass. Therefore, he wasn’t very dangerous and didn’t make good decisions, although he participated in Dembélé’s goal.”
Similarly, Le Parisien was also quite harsh in its assessment of how Mbappe played against Barcelona: “zero shots on target, 13 ball losses… Statistics that hurt Kylian Mbappé.” The outlet went on to describe the Frenchman as “invisible” and opined his performance “cost the Parisians the victory.”
Analysts at Canal+ described Mbappe as “invisible and unhappy”, while praising the Barcelona defender, Jules Kounde, who put in a great shift for the Catalan side despite having to play against the biggest club in his own country.
Le Figaro also believed “Mbappé was too discreet”, and as is clear from these comments from some of the biggest publications in France, the winger is not exactly going through a moment of glory at the moment.
His links to Real Madrid have already eroded his popularity somewhat in France, and this latest poor performance further puts him in a negative light in his home country. However, Barcelona will be hoping to once again keep him contained as they have to meet him once again next week in the second leg of the tie.
