Kylian Mbappe admitted that he was “not supposed to play” in Paris Saint-Germain‘s Champions League round of 16 first leg against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Mbappe came off the bench but was unable to prevent a 1-0 loss at the Parc des Princes.
The France forward suffered a hamstring injury Feb. 1 that the club initially said would rule him out for three weeks. Yet he came on as a substitute in the 57th minute and ignited the game, having two goals disallowed for offside as his entrance changed the storyline of the match.
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“It was difficult, unpredictable,” Mbappe said. “I wasn’t supposed to play but I wanted to play and help my mates.
“We did everything, we worked night and day to get me some game time. I wanted to [start the game]. But sometimes you have to be satisfied with what you can do, and that’s all I could do.”
After Kingsley Coman scored the game’s only goal in the 53rd minute, Mbappe’s return to fitness is PSG’s best hope looking ahead to the March 8 second leg at the Allianz Arena. And Mbappe believes that if PSG are at full strength, they can turn things around in Munich.
