Kylian Mbappe will return for Paris Saint-Germain in tomorrow night’s Champions League clash with Real Sociedad.
Striker Mbappe was an unused substitute in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Lille but coach Luis Enrique said the France captain is available for the first leg of their last 16 clash with the Basque side at the Parc des Princes.
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“When a team has a player like Kylian Mbappé, of course we know that the more he plays the better, because we all benefit from that,” said Luis Enrique.
“There is no doubt about it, he could have played [on Saturday] if it had been a final, but it wasn’t, it was not worth the risk. Kylian Mbappé is available, just like the other players.”
The Champions League remains the holy grail for PSG and yet it would be a major surprise if they landed the trophy given their patchy form in Europe this season.
They could only finish second in their group and suffered shock defeats to Newcastle and AC Milan.
Le retour de la @ChampionsLeague ✨
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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) February 13, 2024
Sociedad, in contrast, have performed better in Europe than they have domestically where they sit seventh in La Liga.
Former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique knows Imanol Alguacil’s men will be no pushovers for the Ligue 1 leaders.
“Real Sociedad have a tight defence in the Champions League, they don’t give the ball away easily. We have to press them aggressively,” he said.
“They are certainly one of the best teams in the competition, that is why they qualified as group winners.”
