Mbappe is a reserve for the third time at PSG

France Striker Kylian Mbappe was a substitute for PSG in Ligue 1 for the third time, when he was not allowed to enter the field in the 3-1 comeback win over Lille in round 21 on February 10.

The previous two substitute appearances came in Mbappe's first season at PSG, when he sat out games against Nantes in November 2017 and Monaco in April 2018.

After the win over Lille, when asked about the decision not to use Mbappe, coach Luis Enrique replied: "We don't want to take risks. That doesn't make any sense. If today was the final, Mbappe would play."

Striker Kylian Mbappe (center) sits on the bench during PSG's 3-1 comeback win over Lille in round 21 of Ligue 1 at Parc des Princes, Paris on February 10. Photo: AFP

The Spanish coach stressed the importance of rotation when PSG face Sociedad in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on February 14. "When you play every three days, the goal is to control the minutes," Enrique said. "We want most of the players to play. They are very competitive and have a high intensity."

Without Mbappe, PSG got off to a shaky start when they conceded a goal in the 6th minute. Tiago Santos beat Marco Asensio on the right wing and crossed into the penalty area. The PSG defender failed to clear the ball, allowing striker Yusuf Yazici to receive the ball close to the goal and finish past Keylor Navas.

Dembele (No. 10) passes the ball in PSG's 3-1 win over Lille on February 10. Photo: AFP

In the 17th minute, Ribeiro continued to make mistakes when he missed Fabian Ruiz's cross and let the ball fly into his own net. The goal was counted as an own goal by the Lille center back.

PSG then kept up the pressure and found the winner in the 80th minute. Substitute Bradley Barcola broke through on the left flank and crossed for Randal Kolo Muani to tap into an empty net. Barcola and Muani were both signed by PSG in the summer of 2023, for $48 million from Lyon and $90 million from Frankfurt, respectively.

The 3-1 victory helped PSG consolidate their position at the top of Ligue 1 with 50 points, 11 points ahead of Nice. In the next round on February 17, the Parisian club will visit Nantes - the team currently ranked 14th with 19 points.

Line-up :

PSG : Navas, Mukiele, Lucas Hernandez (Hakimi 69), Danilo, Beraldo, Ruiz (Vitinha 62), Ugarte, Asensio, Dembele (Barcola 62), Ramos (Zaire Emery 74), Kolo Muani

Lille : Chevalier, Santos, Yoro, Alexsandro Ribeiro, Ismaily, Bentaleb, Andre (Jonathan David 67), Zhegrova (Ounas 67), Angel Gomes, Gudmundsson (Cabella 67), Yazici (Haraldsson 81)

Hong Duy

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