He went last, facing the microphones. Shortly before midnight, in the wake of Munich residents Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Yann Sommer and their sporting director Hasan Salihamidzc, Kylian Mbappé appeared in the mixed zone to deliver his message of hope and affirm, despite the defeat against Bayern. (0-1), that Paris still had every reason to believe in qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
What are the grounds for hope for PSG?
KYLIAN MBAPPE. We only lost 1-0 and there is no longer this away goal rule. If we play our attacking football and score once, we’re tied. Afterwards, we will have to play with what we have in our pants to go and win the victory and qualify there. There is always hope, it’s only a first leg, it’s played over two games. We knew it before the game and we know it even more now. We are going to work, recover everyone and try to start winning again, already it is important and to get there to qualify.
We have the impression that without Kylian Mbappé, this PSG is not only more scary, but it doesn’t hurt anymore either…
This is false because today we still played against a good team. Take any club, it will be better when its team is complete. It’s simple, it doesn’t only apply to PSG. Remove good players from Bayern, they will play less well, that’s how football is. But hey, we’re all together and I’m convinced that we can do something good if we’re all healthy and working hard for the next three weeks.
Is this the message that went through the locker room?
Of course, we are not at all defeated. We lost 1-0, it’s not a favorable score, but we still have every chance to qualify.
How do you feel physically?
(Pouts) As best I can. I’m not 100% but I felt good enough to try to help my friends and play a little bit.
“PSG is not used to being dominated”
How did you experience the uncertainty regarding your participation?
Basically, I shouldn’t come back. I tried everything, tried to put everything on my side so as not to have any regrets. I would have liked to play this match (note: in full). These are matches that we want to play, for which we work. Watching the premiere from the sidelines is very difficult. Today, I only had thirty minutes to give. I gave everything. I will try to recover well to be as efficient as possible in the coming weeks.
What did you ask Christophe Galtier?
He asked me to be as decisive as possible and to bring momentum to the team. I think she needed it now I failed, we failed to change the score. There are reasons for hope because we are starting to recover our whole team, we were still decimated by injuries. The goal is for everyone to take care of themselves and for everyone to recover 100% to go there and have a real chance of qualifying.
Were you surprised that Bayern had such a strong grip on the first half?
Surprised, a little. A team like PSG is a team that must dominate, we are not used to being dominated. In the second half, we saw that when we play with a lot more personality, we put them in difficulty and we are able to score goals and be dangerous.
How important was it for you to be there tonight?
Because I dreamed of those parts, I live for those parts. A football player dreams of these matches. It’s the best players in the world who are there, I think there was a good line-up this evening at the stadium. Competing against the best is all I love. It is sure that I was very frustrated not to be able to play.
Who will be the favorite for the second game?
It’s Paris Saint-Germain, always!