Champions League last-16: Real Sociedad 1 PSG 2 (1-4 on aggregate)
Kylian Mbappé is leaving Paris Saint‑Germain, but his may yet be a fond farewell, and he is not going to just let go. There is still one last thing to do, and it obsesses all of them.
Two superbly taken goals, a portrait of a player who stands above the rest, defeated Real Sociedad and carried PSG to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and one small step closer, perhaps, to the European Cup: 2-0 winners in the first leg, any hope of a comeback for Real Sociedad was ended early by an exhibition from the man about to say au revoir, as he led the team that is still his, until May, to a 2-1 victory in Spain.
The history of football is full of comebacks Imanol Alguacil had reminded them, while Luis Enrique had warned his players that the wrong attitude could see his side “sunk misery”, insisting: “with one goal, Real Sociedad will have us in trouble”. That, though, was a big ask, they knew: if the performance in Paris had impressed, Real had still been defeated, not least because of a familiar failing. The talk had been of needing an early goal but they came into this having failed to score in five of their last eight games and having won just one of nine.
Never mind the timing, Imanol insisted that he didn’t care if the first came in the 10th minute or the sixtieth; besides, he insisted, it was more about conceding. That took just fifteen minutes and it was yet another manifestation of the smooth brutality of Mbappé, that unanswerable superiority.
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Released by Ousmane Dembélé, he surged up the left and into the area. Igor Zubeldia faced him with his hands behind his back as this wasn’t hard enough anyway. Mbappé tapped on the break, the accelerator, the brake and the accelerator again, just a short distance each time but enough to send his marker out of the way, balance gone. And then, bam, the ball flew past Álex Remiro and into the far corner, hard enough to unhook the net.
Indeed, for a moment as the referee Michael Oliver stopped, this place wondered if they were somehow going to get let off; maybe it could be ruled out, but on what grounds? Being too good perhaps.
Instead, three men in bibs came to fix the damage done and Mbappé carried on regardless. He had already glided past everyone and all the way to the byline, deep inside the area, where he pulled back for Bradley Barcola, who should have scored from a couple of yards but was denied by Remiro. Now he dashed all the way towards the other post to strike a first time shot that Remiro somehow kept out with his boot.
PSG were completely in control of this and Real Sociedad knew they had to step forward, they were also conscious of the risk that run with Mbappé loitering with intent on the left. They were unable to release a shot of any real consequence until Take Kubo’s effort flew past the post right on half-time.
PSG had taken six by then; half of them came from Mbappé. He had taken three, a fourth was set up by him and a fifth sort of was, indirectly at least: la Real watched Warren Zaïre‑Emery spin and run through the middle of the pitch, the defence backing off and letting him approach alone, seeming to judge that preferable to allowing him a pathway to play the ball to Mbappé. If so, they were right: Zaïre-Emery got to the edge of the area and scuffed the shot.
Mbappé soon added to those figures, Real Sociedad drawn in early in the second half and Lee Kang-in releasing him once more. This was about as Mbappé a goal as it gets. Put him in front of goal, as they had, and there is never the slightest a hint of nerves; in its place is a sense of supreme ease, the feeling that you have seen it before and there is just no possible outcome other than the ball ending in the net.
And so it was: running into the area, Mbappé opened out his body, setting himself up to bend it into the far corner and, with a flick of the eyes and the ankle, pulled it side-footed past Remiro at the near post instead.
Momentarily, Ander Barrenetxea gave this place something to cheer, heading in at the far post but the linesman’s flag was up – and even that was a reminder of Mbappe’s mastery. There is talent, but there is timing too. How often he runs free, how rarely he misjudges the moment to set off.
Real rebelled, determined to fulfil their manager’s promise to make their fans proud of them, whatever the result. A neat move on the right left Martin Zubimendi to slice a good chance over the bar, collapsing to the turf as the ball spun upwards, and then an equally neat move on the left saw Barrenetxea set up Beñat Turrientes on the edge of the six-yard box, only to be denied by a superb save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Jon Olasagasti then clipped a shot onto the roof of the net before, in the 89th minute, Mikel Merino gave them the goal they deserved, singing all the way to the finish, despite being defeated by the better man.
- Guardian
