Kylian Mbappe spoke of his pride at being a PSG player after scoring twice to beat Barcelona and move into the Champions League semi-finals.
♦ PSG stun Barcelona with comeback win
♦ Mbappe bags brace for French side
♦ PSG will face Dortmund in semi-finals
WHAT HAPPENED?
Mbappe kept Paris Saint-Germain’s hopes of a first Champions League triumph alive on Wednesday as he played a starring role in a 4-1 win in Barcelona that completed a 6-4 aggregate victory. Barca had looked set to knock out PSG after taking a 4-2 aggregate lead, but a red card for Ronald Araujo turned the game on its head. Goals from Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha and an Mbappe double ensured PSG go through to a place in the last four.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Mbappe had been criticised for his performance in the first leg but stole all the headlines in Barcelona with his two-goal display. The victory puts PSG in the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since 2021. Mbappe is widely expected to leave PSG at the end of the season, and move to Real Madrid, but will be hoping he can lead the team to a first ever Champions League win before he waves farewell to the French club.
WHAT MBAPPE SAID
He told reporters: “I have the dream of winning the Champions League for Paris. I’m proud to be at PSG since the first day. It’s not because there are good times and bad times that my pride takes a hit. The pride of playing for this club, of representing the club of the capital of my country, it’s something special for me who grew up there. To experience an evening like this one as a Parisian, it’s great. We have one more step to go before we reach the final in Wembley, so we need to stay calm.
“We beat a great team this evening, but even if we had lost, I would be proud to be Parisian. Now it’s certain that during evenings like this, the pride is even greater. We are very happy, we beat a team that we wanted to beat and to be closer to the final. This one is for the fans that came here to support us and those back home. It’s a night to be proud.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Mbappe now has more goals against Barcelona than any other team in the Champions League. The striker has scored five times against the Catalans, only Thomas Muller (with eight) has a better record against the Blaugrana in the Champions League.
WHAT NEXT FOR MBAPPE AND PSG
Mbappe and PSG will now go on to play Dortmund in the semi-finals. The Bundesliga side also completed a memorable comeback by seeing off Atletico 5-4 on aggregate to reach the semi-finals for the first time in 11 years.