Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) attacker Kylian Mbappe has opened up on his missed chance to score a hat-trick in his team’s 2-1 UEFA Champions League group stage win over Juventus on Tuesday (September 6).
Mbappe scored a brace in the first 22 minutes to set up the victory for the Ligue 1 giants. Weston McKennie pulled one back for the visitors after the restart, but Christophe Galtier’s men held on to claim all three points.
Six minutes into the second half, Mbappe was put clean through on goal by Lionel Messi. However, the Frenchman shot wastefully wide after getting into the box, and Juventus reduced arrears only two minutes later.
Speaking to RMC Sport about his missed chance, Mbappe said (via canal-supporters):
“There is a small difference between the first 35 minutes and the second half. We know we have some shortcomings. My failure on the 3-0? I’ve missed a lot of goals in my life. I’m going to score a lot and miss a lot.”
He added:
“These are facts of the game. It is not by missing that you penalise your team, it is by thinking about the failures . We have things to work on, it’s normal; it’s the Champions League. If it was easy, we would have already won it.”
Mbappe is now up to nine goals across competitions this season.
“I think we could have done a little more, but we did the essentials” – PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe was happy with PSG’s win over Juventus but knows there is scope for improvement.
In an interaction with Canal Plus after the game, Mbappe said that the team is happy with the win but could have had a more resounding victory.
“We are happy,” said Mbappe. “I think we could have taken cover and pushed a little more in the second half, even at the end of the first period. I think we could have done a little more, but we did the essentials. I think we achieved a good part. We leave with the victory in a superb atmosphere at home.
Mbappe added that it’s a confidence booster to beat a big team early on in the Champions League. He said:
“Important to face big teams from the start of the season? We always want to compete against the big teams, that’s why we play the Champions League. These are the matches that we love, that we want to play.”
Pleased with his team’s personality on the night, Mbappe urged his teammates to work hard on their shortcomings as PSG eye an elusive continental title this season.
“These matches where we have to show personality, show our quality. We know what we have to work on; we already knew before the match that we had shortcomings. But we will work and try to do our best.”
With his brace against Juventus, the 23-year-old PSG striker is now the youngest player to score 35 goals in the Champions League.