Mbappe denies coach feud after powering PSG into last eight
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain — Kylian Mbappe insisted he had “no problem” with Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique after scoring a brace in his side’s win over Real Sociedad in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Wearing the captain’s armband, Mbappe opened the scoring a quarter of an hour into the second leg in San Sebastian and struck again early in the second half.
PSG won the game 2-1 to secure a 4-1 aggregate victory and a place in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2021.
“It’s fine. There is no problem with him, even if people might think there is a problem. I do have problems but the coach is not one,” Mbappe told broadcaster Canal Plus when asked about his relationship with Enrique.
Mbappe had either started on the bench or been substituted in each of PSG’s previous three Ligue 1 games since he informed the club he would be leaving when his contract expires at the end of the season, when he is widely expected to join Real Madrid.
He was replaced at halftime in last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Monaco to fuel further speculation of a feud with his coach, but he played the whole 90 minutes on Tuesday and took his goal tally for the season to 34 in 34 matches.
“We are very, very pleased to be in the quarterfinals,” added Mbappe, who flourished in a set-up which allowed him to come in from his favored left flank, with Bradley Barcola on the right and Ousmane Dembele through the middle.
“I don’t have any message in particular. I just always want to play in the Champions League.
“It is a very important competition. I try to always perform. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn’t, but I will never be a player who hides.”
Runner-up in 2020, PSG has never won the Champions League and has been eliminated in the last 16 in five of the last seven seasons.
“We are satisfied and happy. We played really well and stopped La Real from getting back into the tie,” Enrique said.
Of Mbappe, he added: “There is no need to manage Mbappe. He manages himself.
“Normally he has freedom, but today he was fixed on the left wing from where we wanted him to be in a good position in the final third, because when you leave him in on goal he is lethal.”
PSG will now hope for a favorable draw in the last eight, both legs of which will take place in April.
“We have no pressure. We have not won the Champions League,” added the former Barcelona coach, who named a young starting lineup on Tuesday with an average age of under 24.
“Our team is clearly improving and we will see how far we can go.
“We are not putting extra pressure on the team. We are one of the youngest teams and this objective needs to be something to be excited about rather than a weight for us.
“It has to be a source of motivation and from there we will try to compete against whoever we play.”
Mikel Merino scored Sociedad’s lone goal in the 89th to give the home crowd some reason to celebrate. “We wanted to qualify, but we also wanted to win,” Mbappe said. “We had a game plan that was clear, and we managed to score early. We didn’t come under too much pressure, just a little at the end.”
Sociedad was trying to advance past the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time. The Basque Country club hadn’t played in Europe’s top club tournament since 2013-14. Its best European campaign was in 1982-83, when it reached the semifinals of the European Cup.
Sociedad started the season strong and won its Champions League group for the first time, but it has been going through a slump recently. It has lost six times in its last seven matches in all competitions, and has only one win in its last nine games.
“All opponents are difficult in the Champions League, but unfortunately we were drawn with probably the toughest one that we could face,” Merino said. “We needed a perfect match to advance, but they are too good and have a player like Mbappe, who is almost sure to score with his transitions. They were better than us.”