Luis Enrique to Blame for PSG Superstar’s Subpar Performance Against Barcelona, Expert Says

On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain suffered a 3-2 defeat against FC Barcelona at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal clash. Kylian Mbappé didn’t make much of an impact in the game, but with 90 minutes still to play, the outcome is far from settled.

Nonetheless, revisiting the matches leading up to the first leg, football pundit Habib Beye believes that manager Luis Enrique is responsible for how Mbappé performed due to not allowing the player to find a rhythm in prior contests. 

“He can’t have a performance like that while being the attacking leader of PSG,” Beye said on Canal Plus (h/t Le10Sport). “He was average tonight. But once again, we talked about Luis Enrique’s management. I don’t want to dwell on it, but when you have a player who doesn’t play against Clermont, who gets substituted against Marseille, who’s managed at the 60th minute… You can spin it however you want, but at some point, there’s inevitably a drop in intensity.

“I hear people saying, ‘It’s normal. He’s leaving. We need to deal with it. He’s not the king.’ But it’s your player who should make the difference. When this player doesn’t play the full match for Clermont, when he’s subbed out in the 68th minute, maybe today Kylian Mbappé lacks intensity. He hasn’t been good, and he needs to be better. But this management concerns me; I found him subdued tonight.”

Additionally, some other players didn’t deliver their best performance in the initial match. Consequently, the team will need to approach the upcoming game in Spain with a different mindset.

According to Le Parisien, the 25-year-old expressed frustration with his performance during the defeat. Nonetheless, he and his teammates are determined to bounce back from the situation and punch their tick to the Champions League semifinals.