March 09, (THEWILL) – Kylian Mbappe has been confirmed as being included in the starting XI for the second leg of Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League last-16 contest against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
As THEWILL previously reported, the 23-year-old was a doubt after sustaining an injury in training, when Idrissa Gueye trod on his foot, but he has been cleared to play in tonight’s encounter, which is a mammoth advantage for Les Parisiens.
PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino chose Gianluigi Donnarumma over Keylor Navas between the sticks for the French side, while Neymar will start this encounter after being on the bench in the first leg. The player left out this time around is Argentina’s Angel Di Maria.
With Mbappe’s inclusion, Real Madrid will face a player they are hell-bent on signing in the summer transfer season, as well as an old Barcelona foe in Lionel Messi.
Pochettino’s PSG tenure with the cash-rich Champions League hopefuls is on the line, and the stakes could not be higher for all of the key players at this point of the UCL campaign. And, Pochettino will be adamant about not losing in one of the world’s most iconic venues.
After Mbappe’s last-gasp victory three weeks ago, Madrid will be quietly confident of overturning the 1-0 first-leg deficit on their home grounds especially as they have been on a winning run since that loss unlike PSG that has suffered two losses in that time.
The match kicks off at 9 pm local time.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
