Football fans on social media have jumped to Kylian Mbappe’s defense after he was the victim of a shocking challenge in Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-1 win over Brest in the French Cup.
Mbappe is once again in the middle of a tug-of-war between PSG and Real Madrid, with the player’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, and reports suggest a move to Spain is closer than ever.
There were some questions about whether the France captain would receive a similar pay package to what he earns in Paris, but it appears the player is finally willing to make a move.
He has been in typically stunning form this season, having already scored 30 goals and seven assists, and continued with another goal in the French Cup on Wednesday evening.
However, despite opening the scoring in the first half, he was brought down in the second half after a horrific tackle that saw Lilian Brassier sent off for a second yellow card.
Kylian Mbappe was beaten by a shock challenge in PSG’s 3-1 victory in the French Cup on Wednesday
Lilian Brassier crunched into Mbappe’s back leg as he looked ready to run free in the Brest half
The contact sent Mbappe’s ankle almost perpendicular to the rest of his leg and threatened a horror injury
Your browser does not support iframes.
When he received the ball at half-court, he rolled it over his left side, pivoting on his right foot, to protect it from the incoming Brassier.
Yet the Brest player apparently had no intention of letting the electric Mbappe sprint away and crunched into the PSG star’s right boot.
The contact, which had all of Brassier’s weight and strength behind it, twisted Mbappé’s ankle almost completely perpendicular to his leg, flat against the turf and also twisted his knee at a terrible angle.
The France captain understandably went down with a blow, but was remarkably unscathed after the first mistake and played out the rest of the match – just over twenty minutes.
It will come as no surprise that Brassier was sent off for this challenge, but instead of being shown an immediate red card and given a minimum three-match suspension, he was given a second yellow card, meaning he could only be out for one game are.
Football fans quickly took to Reddit to express their frustration with the challenge, with one saying: ‘F*** it looks like it could destroy your knee and ankle at the same time’
A second added: ‘It’s a terrible tackle. Wtf.’
One pointed out that it wasn’t an outright dismissal, writing: “It was actually a second yellow and not a straight red, which may be the farthest right-wing red ever.”
Brassier received a second yellow card for the challenge and was sent off in the second period
The French captain had opened the scoring in the French Cup match with a first-half try
Danilo doubled the lead in a three-minute volley in the first half with a close-range strike
A fourth echoed the sentiment, adding: “That’s a red one if I ever saw one, f*** me…”
And a fifth supporter applauded the French captain’s reaction, saying: ‘That’s insane. Should have been straight red. Mbappe carried on like it was nothing, lol.”
It was also a blow for Brest as Steve Mounie had only just got them back into the match four minutes earlier and made it 2-1.
Perhaps predictably, once Brest dropped to tenth place, there was little chance of a bounce-back and PSG held on to win, with Goncalo Ramos securing a third-place finish in added time.
Mbappé had scored after just 34 minutes, firing home an assist from Warren Zaire-Emery in the penalty area at the near post, before Danilo doubled the dominance three minutes later, tapping home from close range.
Steve Mounie got one back for the visitors in the second half, creating a tense end to the match
After sending off Goncalo Ramos, Brassier got a third in extra time to seal the win for PSG
Mbappe then hit the crossbar with a deft chip from left to right in the 43rd minute as PSG threatened to finish the game inside the first half, but Brest survived.
Mounie’s header in the 64th minute then made things interesting, with the visitors halving the deficit and setting up a panicky finish before Brassier’s send-off dealt them a bitter blow.
Mbappe was once again at the center of the action for the third goal, driving through the penalty area before the ball found its way to Achraf Hakimi via Marco Asensio, the Moroccan laying the ball on a plate for Ramos to slot in the third goal.
PSG – who have not won the competition since 2020/21 – are now through to the last eight and will be hoping to end their three-year wait for the French Cup.
