Kylian Mbappe lethally fired Paris Saint-Germain into the Champions League quarter-finals with a brace in a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday, helping his team advance 4-1 on aggregate. Coach Luis Enrique has reduced Mbappe’s minutes in recent weeks after the player informed the club that he would leave at the end of the season, but the France captain has proven that he will be critical if PSG are to win the competition for the first time. Real Sociedad could not contain the electric Mbappe, who scored after 15 and 56 minutes, leaving the Ligue 1 leaders with a simple night in northern Spain.
“We are very happy; this was our goal,” Mbappe told Canal Plus.
“We wanted to qualify, but we also wanted to win and make things easier for ourselves. That’s what we did.
“We had a clear game plan. We scored early and, most importantly, avoided major difficulties.”
The determined Mbappe, who is heavily linked with Real Madrid, showed La Liga’s defences what horrors await them next season.
The forward, who also scored in the first leg, shot over in the opening stages before blazing past Hamari Traore to set up Bradley Barcola, but Alex Remiro denied him from close range.
It wasn’t that Real Sociedad ignored the warning; they simply couldn’t stop the 25-year-old.
Mbappe scored the opening goal from nowhere after being played into the box but wide of the goal.
With a couple of clever touches, he sent Igor Zubeldia scrambling and created enough space for a shot that he whipped into the far corner from a tight angle.
Mbappe’s vicious strike pulled part of the netting away from the post, forcing players to wait until it was repaired before continuing play.
They might not have bothered; the contest was effectively over.
– Double trouble –
Mbappe extended PSG’s lead 11 minutes into the second half by racing in behind the defence from the halfway line.
The striker shaped another shot to the far post before tricking Remiro by sweeping home from close range for his sixth goal in eight Champions League games this season.
Real Sociedad started throwing everything they had at PSG, but it was too little, too late.
Substitute Ander Barrenetxea had a goal disallowed for a tight offside shortly after coming on.
Gianluigi Donnarumma made an outstanding save to deny Benat Turrientes, as the hosts sought a consolation goal that came at the death.
Donnarumma palmed a cross into the middle of the box, and Mikel Merino was in the right spot at the right time to score.
“We competed, but against a team of this level and with a player … Mbappe, who each time he gets it in transition it’s almost a goal…” Merino informed Movistar.
“I hope this club gets to have nights like these again.”
La Real is battling to qualify for the Europa League next season, having won just one of their last ten matches in total.
One of the few negatives for PSG was defender Achraf Hakimi’s booking, which will keep him out of the quarterfinal first leg.
PSG, which is in the last eight for the first time since 2021, will worry about that later; this was a night to celebrate Mbappe’s genius, despite the fact that his time in Paris is coming to an end.
“(Mbappe) is the best player in the world in the final third when running in on goal, unstoppable, invincible,” Luis Enrique said in an interview with Movistar.
“He was very good, but just like all his team-mates — this is a team and we need everyone.”
