Despite confirmation that he will leave PSG at the end of the season, striker Kylian Mbappe will still be played in the starting lineup by coach Luis Enrique when hosting away team Rennes in round 23 of Ligue 1 on the evening of February 25 (hours). Vietnam).
However, the French striker did not show much in this match, having only 2 shots that did not hit the target during 65 minutes on the field before being replaced. Mbappe has only had 43 touches of the ball with expected goals (xG) of 0.23 and expected assists (xA) even worse at 0.04.
Although Mbappe did not create many dangerous situations, PSG’s other stars still caused Rennes’ defense to constantly fend off. In the 20th minute, Vitinha almost opened the score for PSG, but goalkeeper Mandanda made an excellent save for the away team.
Right when the home team was engrossed in attacking, they suddenly conceded a goal. In the 33rd minute, Gouiri made a solo move past two PSG players and then flicked his right cheek extremely quickly to send the ball into the top corner to defeat goalkeeper Donnarumma. The away team maintained the score until the first half ended.
Entering the second half, PSG pressed forward to attack with many consecutive shots towards the away team’s goal, but all failed to hit the target or beat goalkeeper Mandanda.
Coach Luis Enrique was forced to change many personnel in attack, including Mbappe. Notably, the French striker was replaced amid boos from many spectators on the field.
Talking about the decision to replace Mbappe, coach Enrique said after the match: “Sooner or later, at some point, we have to get used to playing without Kylian.”
Enrique’s decision was proven correct when substitute Goncalo Ramos scored a dramatic late equalizer in the 90+7 minute of injury time.
The Portuguese international, who is famous for scoring a hat-trick at the 2022 World Cup after replacing Cristiano Ronaldo, won the penalty in the 90+3 minute of injury time before scoring Madanda himself 4 minutes later. there.
This goal helped PSG avoid their first defeat in Ligue 1 since September 2023 and remained 11 points ahead of Brest in second place.