Kylian Mbappe scored an injury-time penalty to seal a 2-1 win for Paris Saint-Germain over Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on Wednesday.
Kylian Mbappe was the star of the show just 10 days after his defeat in the World Cup final. Although he admitted after the game that he will never forget France‘s loss to Argentina in the World Cup final, the striker said he is now fully focused on Paris Saint-Germain.
Club team-mate Lionel Messi is yet to return to Paris following the victory. Neymar received a yellow card for his temper against a Strasbourg player, then another an hour later for making a blatant save inside the box. Despite being reduced to 10 men, PSG continued to fight and Mbappe won a penalty in the 95th minute.
Neymar‘s sending-off was one of the main talking points in Christophe Galtier’s post-match press conference.
The PSG boss said: “Neymar alternated the game between ups and downs. I can understand that there is anger in him, he really wanted to play the next two games… As much as I can understand the simulation, he deserves the yellow [card], a few minutes before he suffers a bad foul and his first yellow is very severe compared to the number of fouls suffered by Ney.”
“Since his return, he was determined to play our next two matches. He was the trigger for victory when it was tough. He has taught the whole team with his selflessness.”
Kylian Mbappe said:
“Personally, I will never stomach it… [But] my club is not responsible for this failure with the national team. I try to come back with positive energy. I tried to bring a boost to my team, and [we hope to] continue our season undefeated. It was a World Cup – the club has nothing to do with it. The message is simple. It shows that no matter what happens with the national team, PSG is something else. I am still determined to bring all the trophies back to the capital.”