💫 Kylian Mbappé makes it all about him on night of drama in Paris | OneFootball

One moment. That’s all it came down to.

A moment that brought the Parc des Princes to its knees. A moment that could potentially decide a Champions League knockout tie. A moment that will be played in the contract negotiations to determine the future of football’s next superstar.

It was in the post from the very first minute when Kylian Mbappé ran at Casemiro to give a taste of what was to come.

But the Brazilian midfielder was not the only victim of Mbappé’s merciless attacks. Dani Carvajal was hung up like the Mona Lisa with 47,000 spectators gawping at him.

PSG’s No7 toyed with the right-back over and over again, constantly finding himself one-on-one and in positions to produce a cross into the box or get a shot on goal.

In the 17th minute he got in behind, held off Carvajal and shot straight at Thibaut Courtois. Five minutes into the second half, the Belgian had to produce a wonderful one-handed save to deny Mbappé once again.

It was obvious that this was Mbappé’s game and he was going to make the difference.

And it looked like he had in the 61st minute. He sped past Carvajal but this time the Spanish defender caved and fouled him inside the area.

Lionel Messi stepped up to take the spot-kick and the only sound that could be heard in the whole of Paris was the typing on the laptops of football’s script-writers.

Real supporters had been here before, looking at the former Barcelona player who had previously scored 20 goals against them.

But the night wasn’t going to be about a ghost from Real Madrid’s past; it was going to be decided by one haunting their present and one who they hope will spearhead their future.

The decisive blow was struck in the last of the added minutes.  This time he was up against Lucas Vázquez who had tapped in after Carvajal had been put out of his misery.

The Frenchman rolled his new opponent and danced past him with a peculiar move that could only be appreciated with a second glance. Courtois was beaten this time with the ball sliding under him.

His manager called him ‘one of the best’ post-match while admitting “it’s hard to find the words to say how good he is.”

Carlo Ancelotti indulged in some very public flirting calling him “the best in Europe”.

The build-up to this fixture had been diverted towards all the narratives surrounding it – Messi, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Pochettino’s future.

But in the end it was all about Mbappé, and it was always going to be.