Pochettino revels in Mbappe magic as PSG edge Real

Paris St Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino was delighted with his team’s performance as they beat Real Madrid in their Champions League last-16, first leg on Tuesday, but had a special praise for Kylian Mbappe’s sublime late strike.

Mbappe spared PSG a frustrating night as he skipped through the Real defence in stoppage time to secure a 1-0 win.

“It’s a narrow win perhaps but it gives us hope for the game in Madrid,” Pochettino told reporters.

“I’m happy with the performance and I hope we can continue to give this kind of performance in future.”

Despite his disappointment at a penalty miss by his fellow Argentine Lionel Messi, the coach expressed satisfaction with how PSG dominated possession and stifled Real.

Calling Mbappe “one of the best players in the world”, he joked that his joy at the late goal turned to pain as the France forward inadvertently hit his coach’s nose during a touchline celebration.

His Real counterpart Carlo Ancelotti was also optimistic for the second leg but was left ruing his side’s struggles in possession, while he was unhappy with the yellow cards that will deprive him of Casemiro and Ferland Mendy in the second leg in Madrid.