In Sunday’s 9-0 French Cup thrashing of sixth-tier amateurs Revel, Kylian Mbappe helped record-14-time winners Paris Saint-Germain escape an embarrassing blunder.
In a video shared online, the younger fans of Revel had pleaded with Mbappe to attend the match in Castres, a little stadium in the south-western area of Haute-Garonne that can barely manage 2,000 spectators.
The 25-year-old sensation was a member of manager Luis Enrique’s formidable traveling party to the top of Regional 1, five levels behind the French league leaders in the capital, so they got what they wanted.
“Kylian wanted to play and when he wants to play there’s not a lot you can say,” Luis Enrique said.
After a wild night out in the town of Toulouse, Mbappe scored a hat trick to give PSG the trophy and become the competition’s leading scorer with 30 goals.
“When he plays, everyone wins – the staff, the fans, the rivals,” said the PSG coach.
Unfortunately, Revel defender Maxence N’Guesson scored an own goal just before halftime.
After failing to win the crown in the previous two seasons, PSG are eager to increase their cup total.
“We know the importance of the French Cup, it is one of our objectives this season,” Luis Enrique said before to the match.
In 2022, Nice eliminated PSG from the tournament. Last season, Marseille advanced from the round of 64 after a close victory at Thionville, a team four leagues below than the south coast giants. The game-winning goal came from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 62nd minute.
Similarly, Monaco survived to fight another day, defeating Ligue 1 rivals Lens 6-5 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless regulation match.
After making the roughly 7,000-kilometer journey from Martinique in the Caribbean, Golden Lion were pummeled 12-0 by Ligue 1 heavyweights Lille on Saturday.