Kylian Mbappe's Paris Saint-Germain strop supported by Arsenal icon

14 December 2023 , 12:57

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Kylian Mbappe's Paris Saint-Germain strop supported by Arsenal icon

Kylian Mbappe struggled to hide his frustration at the end of Paris Saint-Germain's 1-1 draw away at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night.

Though the point at the Signal Iduna Park was enough to secure the Parisians their place in the Champions League round of 16, they did so as runners-up in Group F, having won just two of their six games. As a result, Luis Enrique's men will face teams from pot 1 in the next round, traditionally the best sides left in the competition.

When the draw rolls around on Monday, PSG could face any of Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid or Barcelona in the knockout phase. Things could have been different, AC Milan's late goal to make it 2-1 against Newcastle in the group's other game meant the Ligue 1 giants could have beaten Dortmund to top spot with a winner.

However, Enrique made clear from the dugout that the instruction was clear - preserve the point they had. This did not align with what Mbappe felt the plan should have been and in turn he cut a very frustrated figure come full-time.

Some have criticised the former Monaco man for his response, after all, PSG are still through to the last 16 and their hopes of at long last winning the Champions League are still very much alive. With that being said, one fellow Frenchman has empathised with Mbappe in Emmanuel Petit.

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The ex-Arsenal ace told RMC Sport: "I understand his frustration, If I were in his place, I would not have understood the instructions from the bench either. We saw the bench get up and Achraf Hakimi tell his teammates to calm things down.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Was Mbappe wrong to show his frustration at full-time against Dortmund? Comment below

Kylian Mbappe made sure to show his frustration at full-time against Dortmund

"Mbappe doesn’t think like the majority of players. He’s right, I’m sorry, but he knows. He plans ahead and knows what’s going to happen. He knows very well who PSG could face next. We know his ambitions, he doesn’t want to finish second and he knows there was room to finish first."

Mbappe's emotions at full-time were the subject of questions put to Enrique, who made clear he understood, but also stood by his own game plan. "It’s normal for the players to be frustrated, we had five chances to score, five very clear chances," he told reporters.

"We would be a bit stupid to continue taking risks in the 85th minute with the possibility of conceding a goal and being eliminated. When a player is frustrated because he wants to score more goals, that’s when I intervene by having an overview to say, ‘yes we will win, but without taking excessive risks'".

Josh O'Brien