TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand believes Kylian Mbappe needs to be more “clinical” in the big moments, after an “unusual” performance in Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
The forward had five shots, three of them on target, but failed to hit the back of the net in a 1-0 defeat in the second leg of their last-four tie.
This is unusual for Kylian Mbappe,” he told TNT Sports. “This is a guy that we’re accustomed to seeing at the biggest moments, the biggest stage. When it’s all on the line, he steps up.
World Cup finals, big moments for PSG, all through his career he seems to have stepped up to the plate at them moments.
“Over the two legs here, I thought he was very subdued. He wasn’t decisive. He wasn’t clinical. He didn’t manage to free up himself to get into really good positions.”
“I thought that their finishing was probably their biggest let down for them, over the two legs,” he continued. “They had some decent chances over the two games. They weren’t clinical enough.”
“I thought he was really quiet over both legs, but Dortmund played him really, really well.”
“But sometimes, in those games, those big players find something, where they get into a space and the ball just falls to them.”
“That chance at the end, the volley. That’s a chance for him to really be clinical and to put that away and give them a chance to get back into the game.”