Undoubtedly, there’s a lot on a player’s mind heading into the day of a massive game.
Especially when that important fixture is a Champions League match. Especially when you are an 18-year-old star shouldering high expectations. Especially when you’re a member of the away club on a homecoming trip to the city you were born and raised in for the first time in your professional career.
PSG was rocking at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.
After a close first half, Les Parisiens turned it on in the second. Goals from Presnel Kimpembe (who was lucky to still be on the pitch) and Kylian Mbappé both assisted by Angel Di Maria sealed a 2-0 away victory, which will be vital to PSG for the second match of the tie. Without Edinson Cavani and Neymar, PSG strolled through in Manchester.
Paris Saint-Germain was without Neymar. Without Edinson Cavani. Without Thomas Meunier. But Kylian Mbappé is still very much a fast, fast man.
Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani left the pitch moments after scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win against Bordeaux on Saturday. An Edinson Cavani injury is the last thing the club needs right now.
PSG travels to England to face Manchester United in first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday.
Yesterday, Manchester United traveled to Leicester in the hopes of bouncing back from a shock 2-2 draw against Burnley at Old Trafford. The good news for United is they left King Power Stadium with three points. The bad news: United is trying to shake off a lack of sharpness.
On Monday, Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon celebrated his 41st birthday. The man with 176 international appearances to his name is now chasing his personal Holy Grail — the UEFA Champions League title — with Paris Saint-Germain, but recent reports suggest that the birthday boy will carry on playing past his 42nd birthday.
You’ve heard this before: A broken foot is threatening to prematurely end Neymar’s club season, and he could be facing a race for fitness ahead of a major international tournament.
Last season, Neymar sustained a crack to the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot during a match against Marseille on Feb. 25. The injury was worse than first expected, required surgery and Neymar missed PSG’s Champions League Round of 16 return leg against Real Madrid before sitting out the rest of the season.
In the soccer world, one of the best sights for sore eyes is the return of the Champions League.
Sometimes, watching Champions League teams playing league cup matches against weak opposition can be really dull after a while. For example, Manchester City’s 9-0 drubbing of Burton Albion a few weeks ago. In a lot of ways, European soccer without Champions League becomes kind of monotonous. At some point between the last Champions League group stage match and the start of the Round of 16, soccer fans will be wondering when the tournament will start up again.