French forward Kylian Mbappe had a night to forget as Paris Saint-Germain took on midtable side Montpellier HSC at Stade de la Mosson on Wednesday night.
The Parisians’ night got off to a perfect start as they were awarded a penalty when center-back Christopher Jullien brought down Sergio Ramos in the Montpellier box only 7 minutes into the match.
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Mbappe was handed the responsibility of taking the spot kick, but he was denied by shot-stopper Benjamin Lecomte on his first attempt. However, the referee deemed the goalkeeper to have gotten off his line before the spot-kick was taken and hence called for a retake.
The French forward was expected to get the better of the goalkeeper this time around, but yet again Lecomte came out on top as he parried he shot onto the crossbar.
With the goalkeeper trying to get back on his feet, Mbappe was presented with a seater as the ball came back in his direction off the post, but he fired his effort over the bar. That made it three blunders in a matter of two minutes for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finalist.
His night went from bad to worse as he was prematurely substituted from the match at the 21st-minute mark due to injury.
“Pogba’s witchcraft working” against Mbappe
Fans were quick to react to the Frenchman’s disaster cameo, with one Twitter user, @Owner_Of_Vini, writing, “Greatest disaster class performance in the history of football.”
@Anerobeezy added, “Could it be a sign that he’s finished cause this not mbappe we used to know!”
This seems to refer to allegations made by Paul Pogba’s elder brother, Mathias, in September 2022 that the former Manchester United man used witchcraft to neutralize Mbappe’s performance before a UEFA Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain. The French midfielder, Pogba, denied those allegations.
However, some fans defended Kylian Mbappe’s performance, as @Elhebreo5 wrote, “Everyone misses a penalty, there’s no big deal.”
@Rasmus13374 added, “He’s still an amazing player imo, unfortunate events and I wish him a speedy recovery”
However, those events did not slow down Paris Saint-Germain, as they ran out 3-1 winners on the night.
Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz fired from six yards to give his side a lead before unleashing a delicious pass to get World Cup winner Lionel Messi on the score sheet.
Montpellier got a lifeline with Arnaud Nordin’s effort, but 16-year-old Warren Zaïre-Emery got the third for PSG, becoming their youngest player in history to score a goal.
Meanwhile, PSG have since confirmed that Mbappe is expected to miss three weeks with a thigh injury.
This means that PSG will be without Mbappe for a number of important games, including the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 match against Bayern Munich on February 14 at the Parc des Princes.
