<
>

Kylian Mbappe plays down epic four-goal display: 'My performance was good, but it was a team effort'

Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has praised his teammates for their role in Sunday's 5-0 home win over Lyon that saw the French champions set a new record of nine wins from their opening nine fixtures.

The France international scored four of the five goals in a wild 14-minute second half spell after Neymar had opened the scoring with a first half penalty and both sides had been reduced to 10 men before half-time.

"My performance was good, but it was a team effort above all," Mbappe told Canal+ after the final whistle at Parc des Princes.

"We got the record and I will put my man of the match award in my trophy cabinet. Records are great, but I want to insist of the team aspect -- there will be other chances to speak about records.

"The team is the most important thing. We wanted to measure ourselves against a team like Lyon. They are a great team -- they showed that in the Champions League and in big matches.

"The title is still far off and there will be plenty to do before it is won."

Teammate Neymar, who added an assist to his penalty strike, lauded Mbappe after the first quadruple of his career.

"We knew before this match that we have a great team," said the Brazil international. "We are going from strength to strength.

"I am very happy for Kylian -- he is a player with great qualities and he handles responsibility well. We are friends and I hope to help him succeed in more games like this one.

"Kylian is a phenomenon -- a star. He is a technical leader and the whole squad respects him. When he speaks, he does not care that he is just 19.

"I congratulate Kylian and I hope that he continues like this as football will thank him."

PSG coach Thomas Tuchel was delighted with what he saw from Mbappe and Neymar in attack after Presnel Kimpembe was sent off and admitted that it was a "crazy match."

"The first half was tough as Lyon started well," the German tactician said. "It was a crazy match. Lyon played with great quality and made things difficult. In the second half, 10 men against 10, we showed very good mentality -- it was incredible.

"We stayed together. I told my players at half-time to defend well. My team do not surprise me as I know that they are capable of special things. They play and go through things as a team. Today was amazing and we deserved to win."

On Mbappe, Tuchel was impressed by the teenager's quadruple but also suggested that he could and should have scored even more.

"Kylian did not get much luck against Red Star Belgrade," said the former Borussia Dortmund and Mainz 05 boss. "However, he trained well and then worked tactically for the team here and sacrificed himself defensively.

"Kylian scored four goals but could have had five, six or seven! I am very satisfied because he has lost no confidence -- he was magnificent. With Neymar, the two of them were dangerous all the time."

Chairman and CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi was also in the mixed zone and full of praise for the team -- particularly attackers Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani.

"I am very proud of my players and my staff," the Qatari supremo said. "Setting this record of nine wins from nine in Ligue 1 is great for PSG's history.

"I congratulate Lyon -- they are a great team and they were excellent in the first half. It is not over yet, though -- we have not won anything.

"Pre-match, I told Kylian: 'come on, this is your game!' He scored four. Between Kylian, Neymar and Edinson, we really have players fighting for the Ballon d'Or."

Regarding PSG cancelling as many as 100 season tickets in the wake of incidents surrounding the midweek clash with Red Star, Al-Khelaifi stressed the importance of safety at Parc des Princes to Les Parisiens' hierarchy.

"As I said from day one, safety is a priority of ours -- it is very important," he said. "Atmosphere is too, but safety is first and foremost. It is no joke."