It’s no longer a secret that Kylian Mbappe is going to finally leave PSG this summer. And with his days in Paris already numbered, the 25-year-old striker will look to make his last hurrah count by giving the Parisiens what they’ve always dreamed of, which is the Champions League trophy.
PSG have a real shot of winning it all this season, but first they must take care of business in the quarter-finals against Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Barcelona’s La Liga rivals, Real Madrid, are in for a tough one against defending champions Manchester City. The Champions League 2024 odds have Los Blancos as the underdogs, especially given their injury situation, which has yet to ease up.
SBOTOP football fans would also have to look out for Atletico Madrid, especially if they’ll have their talisman back just in time for the quarter-finals.
PSG have huge Mbappe conundrum
After it was confirmed that Kylian Mbappe would no longer be with PSG this offseason, head coach Luis Enrique has been trying to prepare his team for a life without the 2018 World Cup champion.
After a goalless first half against AS Monaco, Kylian Mbappe was taken off the match. Instead of joining his teammates on the bench, Mbappe chose to join his mother in the stands, which left a lot of people surprised.
Mbappe did say, however, that he has no problems with Enrique, and he played the full 90 minutes against Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie. PSG advanced to the quarter-finals as Mbappe had a brace in the 2-1 victory.
Against Reims, Mbappe came off the bench late in the second half, and PSG were held to a 2-2 draw as they squandered their 2-0 lead. However, he did start in their 3-1 win over Nice in the Coupe de France quarter-finals and in their 6-2 league win over Montpellier before the international break.
Fortunately for PSG, they are blessed with a talented frontline, even without Kylian Mbappe, as they still have Randal Kolo Muani, Goncalo Ramos, Marco Asensio, Lee Kang-In, Ousmane Dembele, and Bradley Barcola in tow. This season, all of them have combined for 24 goals and 22 assists.
And at least they still have Ethan Mbappe, who is the younger brother of Kylian. Although Ethan still has a long way to go to be as talented as his older brother, he and Warren Zaire-Emery have a ton of potential and are yet to turn 20 years old.
Real Madrid in danger to face earlier exit than usual
Defencive depth remains the Achilles heel for Real Madrid, even if the stats don’t show it, as injuries continue to haunt them.
First-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is going to be out for the rest of the 2023-24 campaign after injuring his knee anew, while centre-backs Eder Militao and David Alaba are still far from being 100-per cent fit.
Antonio Rudiger, Fran Garcia, and Nacho are the only legitimate centre-backs left for Carlo Ancelotti, so the Italian head coach had to play Aurelien Tchouameni at centre-half at times, even if he’s really a midfielder.
While they’ve managed to reclaim the La Liga table lead despite this, this won’t fly against a well-oiled machine in Manchester City, who are expected to go full force in the quarter-finals.
After not doing anything during the January transfer window, Real Madrid’s deficiencies at the back and up front are likely to be exposed sooner or later.
Atletico Madrid anxiously waiting on Griezmann
Atletico Madrid will need to have Antoine Griezmann 100-per cent fit if they are going to make noise in the Champions League quarter-finals. The French international has been a man on the mission this season, with 17 goals and six assists.
Prior to the international break, the Champions League 2024 updates revealed that Griezmann was playing through pain during Los Rojiblancos’ Round of 16 clash against Inter Milan. Against Barcelona, he had to come off the bench, as Rodrigo Riquelme took his place in the starting XI.
As he is recovering from his ankle injury, Didier Deschamps decided not to name Antoine Griezmann on the French national team, ending his record run of playing 84 consecutive matches for Les Bleus.
If Griezmann has to miss more time, especially against Borussia Dortmund, Alvaro Morata, Angel Correa, Marcos Llorente, Memphis Depay, and Samuel Lino will have to collectively fill in for the Frenchman.
Morata is the other double-digit scorer for Atletico Madrid this season with 19 goals, while Correa, Llorente, Depay, and Lino have combined for 24 goals and 12 assists this year.
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