PSG 'played without a captain' in final moments vs. Newcastle United, commentator explains why

Paris Saint-Germain played 'without a captain' during the final eight minutes of Tuesday evening's 1-1 draw with Newcastle United.

Kylian Mbappe wore the armband at the Parc des Prices in the absence of usual skipper Marquinhos.

The 24-year-old had a point to prove against Newcastle after a poor performance in October's 4-1 defeat in St. James' Park.

With PSG 1-0 down and facing an almighty task to make the last 16, Mbappe appeared to remove his captain's armband.

TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher spotted Mbappe getting about without wearing his armband and speculated why.

He told viewers: "Not sure what Mbappe’s done with the captain’s armband but he hasn’t got it on anymore, whether it’s superstition or not.

“He’s got rid of it and nobody else has got one out there.

“Of course, it’s Marquinhos who’s the captain here, Mbappe wearing the armband because he’s not available."

Mbappe did step up to score a controversial 98th minute penalty to snatch a point late on after Alexander Isak's first-half effort.

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PSG were awarded a penalty after Tino Livramento was judged to have handled an Ousmane Dembele cross in the box.

Referee Szymon Marciniak initially ignored protests from PSG players, but VAR intervened to hand the Ligue 1 leaders a spot kick.

Newcastle's destiny is now out of their own hands. They must beat AC Milan on matchday six and hope PSG drop points against Borussia Dortmund.

Post-match, goalscorer Isak spoke to reporters and expressed frustration at the decision.

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He said: "We always want to win, but this point will probably be important.

"There's all to play for in the last round. The goal was a proud moment for me. I didn't score in my first two (group) games, so it's a big moment for me."

When asked about the penalty decision, Sweden international Isak replied: "My first reaction was it wasn't (a penalty). It seemed cheap. I haven't seen a replay. Hopefully it was a penalty. We have to trust the referees."