Real Madrid may hold a definitive advantage over Paris Saint-Germain after winning their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 first leg tie 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Les Parisiens forward Kylian Mbappe feels the tie is still open and the Ligue 1 giants are still in it.
The 19-year-old posted on his Instagram handle in the aftermath of the damaging defeat:
Advertisement
Mbappe’s post, when translated, reads, “A defeat is real to hard to accept, but nothing is done, we still have a great battle to lead so that we can qualify. We have quality but we will also need huge determination and rage to overcome without limit, but at Parc des Princes anything is possible and we know that the fans will be on fire and we will support it until the end. We will give body and soul to try to make history all together…This is Paris”.
Mbappe provided the impetus for the opener on the night, with Adrien Rabiot arriving at the right time and place to give the visitors the lead in the 34th minute.
However, Real would win a contentious penalty towards the end of the first-half and Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to equalise with 45 minutes left in the first leg.
The second-half belonged to Madrid as they scored two late goals in quick succession to really take the game away from Les Parisiens, but there was one controversial incident of note that went against the visitors in the second period as well.
Adrien Rabiot’s goal-bound shot was blocked by Real Madrid captain by a mixture of his hand and body and despite vociferous appeals from the PSG players, the match officials remained unimpressed.
Replays showed the Spanish defender had clearly handled the ball, but perhaps due to the fact that his hand was extremely close to the body gave him the benefit of the doubt in the referee’s eyes.
The second leg at the Parc des Princes takes place on March 6 and the fact that PSG have scored an away goal will give them hope. They were on the wrong end of a miraculous comeback in the competition last year at the hands of Spanish opposition (Barcelona) and will hope this time luck favours them when they host Real in the French capital.
