Mbappe’s greatness gives PSG blueprint for Champions League success

This is the Kylian Mbappe show. The Year of Mbappe. Mbappe-Saint-Germain. He is King Kylian, and everything in Paris happens through him. His performance for Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League clash with Real Madrid on Tuesday at the Parc des Princes proved it again.

He struck late to score the only goal of a 1-0 win in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, he earned a penalty (albeit missed by Lionel Messi), he created the biggest chances. He is always a threat, a danger, and he inspires fear in his opponents.

– Ogden: Mbappe boosts PSG, gives Real Madrid glimpse of future
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While Messi forces his game too much, everything comes easy for Mbappe. He is the real playmaker of this team, especially in the Champions League where he is responsible for 64% of PSG’s goals this season, with five goals and four assists in seven matches so far.

Nonetheless, there is an overdependence on him in this team as Mbappe has been involved in 50% of the goals scored by the PSG in all competitions. Too often this season, there was nothing apart from him. He has been the only spark in far too many occasions and if you analyse the Ligue 1 leaders without his individual performances, then they look very average.

However, the game against Real Madrid was different. This time, as has been all too rare this season, there was also a team around Mbappe, a real collective strength and unity. Even if the ultimate difference still came from the No. 7, PSG had their best collective performance of the season, when it mattered the most. They outplayed Real Madrid, outsmarted them. They put them under pressure for 95 minutes. The numbers speak for themselves, of course: 39 touches in the box for PSG to seven for Madrid, 1.87 expected goals to 0.10, 21 shots to three. Never had the Parisians had so many shots in a European knockout game before in their history.

But the most revealing stat is without a…