Kylian Mbappe let his football do the talking with a first-half penalty, but Paris Saint-Germain shared the spoils with Benfica on Tuesday.
Kylian Mbappe became Paris Saint-Germain’s leading scorer in European competition but Christophe Galtier’s side were held to a 1-1 draw against Benfica in the UEFA Champions League.
Tuesday’s game at the Parc des Princes came amid widespread reports that Mbappe was unhappy at PSG and would push for a January move.
PSG football adviser Luis Campos vehemently denied the reports before kick-off and the France international put speculation to one side to convert a first-half penalty to put his side ahead and overtake Edinson Cavani in the club’s European records.
Joao Mario equalized from the penalty spot after the restart, however Mbappe saw a late goal disallowed for offside as both teams missed the chance to secure promotion from Group H.
PSG were grateful for VAR’s forgiveness in the 18th minute when referee Michael Oliver called for offside as he reversed his decision to award Benfica a penalty for Achraf Hakimi’s ball.
But Oliver’s next penalty decision was in no doubt after Antonio Silva clumsily brought down Juan Bernato, with Mbappe calmly sending Odysseus Vlachodimos the wrong way for his landmark six minutes before half-time.
Mbappe curled just wide in the second half before Marco Verratti brought down Rafa Silva just inside the PSG area.
The foul was initially ruled out by Oliver, who quickly reversed his decision after consulting the pitch monitor as Joao Mario finished high into Gianluigi Donnarumma’s net.
Mbappe thought he had hit a late winner but was denied by Sergio Ramos after an acrobatic volley past Vlachodimos.
PSG player ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 5
Sergio Ramos, 5
Marquinhos, 6 – The Brazilian with a solid performance which kept Gonçalo Ramos quiet and limited the visitors to scarcely any clear-cut opportunities.
Danilo Pereira, 5
Achraf Hakimi, 6
Marco Verratti, 5 – A solid first half which was later overshadowed by the needless tackle to give away the penalty.
Vitinha, 5
Juan Bernat, 5
Pablo Sarabia, 3 – Being Lionel Messi’s stand-in is obviously no easy task, but the Spaniard was consistently one step behind his attacking partners and offered very little. Messi’s absence to a calf injury has left the PSG attack directionless, and as talented as Sarabia is, stepping in to coordinate Neymar and Mbappé was a tall order.
Neymar, 6
Kylian Mbappé, 6 – The most active of Paris Saint-Germain’s frontline but mostly missing his final touch. The World Cup winner opened the scoring from the spot and nearly sealed the win in the dying minutes with a great volley, which was eventually ruled out for offside.
Others: Fabián Ruiz (84′), Nordi Mukiele (84′), Carlos Soler (89′), Hugo Ekitike (73′)
