When his team wins, Kylian Mbappé, the superstar of Paris Saint-Germain, takes the credit. To his credit, he accepted responsibility for their Tuesday defeat. The France international blamed squandered opportunities, some of which came from him, for his team’s Champions League semifinal loss to Dortmund, which ended 2-0 on aggregate following PSG’s 1-0 loss in the second leg.
“I did not do enough, but I tried my hardest to help my team,” Mbappé remarked following the match at Parc des Princes. “I feel like I am the one being attacked when we talk about being efficient in the boxes. I am the one who needs to be decisive and score goals. I always take center stage when things are going well, and you have to take the back seat when they aren’t. That is not an issue.I was the first person who was supposed to score tonight. That is life, and my team and I must move on.”
The Ligue 1 champions missed four opportunities and lost the second leg despite having about 70% of the possession and 30 shots. However, Mbappé insisted that PSG was not unlucky—rather, they were not good enough. “I am not sure if they were superior to us. “There is no need to disparage them,” Mbappé remarked. “They were better in the two boxes, in my humble view. They arrived in ours once or twice and scored. We visited them frequently, but we were never able to score. It is true.
“I dislike discussing my lack of luck. It goes in when you are good, not just hits the post. We, the attackers, were not good enough today.” Dortmund, who mostly played through the middle rather than down the left wing, kept Mbappé in check and scored early in the second half through Mats Hummels. Given that Mbappé is anticipated to depart PSG at the end of the current campaign, this may be his final Champions League match with the team. Mbappé, however, just rolled his eyes at the reporters and turned away when they questioned him about his rumored summer transfer to Real Madrid.
In the final ten minutes, PSG enjoyed extended periods of possession. Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel made a fantastic one-handed save to deflect Mbappé’s close-range shot onto the crossbar, and as full time drew near, the Parc des Princes crowd let out a collective sigh when midfielder Vitinha’s thunderous 25-meter strike rattled the woodwork. PSG manager Luis Enrique stated, “I do not think we were inferior in any of the two games.” “I congratulate them and wish them luck in the final, but the outcome is what it is. We must heal from this severe blow on our end.
“Losing is never easy, let alone in this particular fashion. I would like to congratulate Borussia on their fantastic Champions League run and their strong performance in the two games. Despite having 31 shots and six posts overall, we have not scored a goal. It is hard to believe that Dortmund, who won the Champions League in 1997, is headed for a second straight championship, while PSG will have to wait another season to lift the trophy that their owners in Qatar so desperately want.
“The coach and players gave it their all. Dortmund, congratulations! We deserved better. The game is challenging. The youngest team in Europe, which I am pleased of,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi remarked. In the last five years, we have advanced to the semifinals three times. That is still the end goal; that is not our goal. It is just part of playing soccer; sometimes it is unfair. We will take it.
