Featured Image Credit: Image: BT Sport
Topics: Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain
Josh Lawless
Topics: Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain
Neymar took PSG's penalty against Monaco on Sunday night despite manager Christophe Galtier admitting Kylian Mbappe was the number one taker for the game.
In the home game before last, there were reports of a rift between the two players over a penalty in the 5-2 win over Montpellier.
Mbappe missed a spot-kick but wanted to redeem himself and take the second penalty PSG were awarded.
He bumped into Lionel Messi as he went over to Neymar but the Brazilian had already grabbed the ball and was not budging.
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He would then convert the penalty but the incident caused a major stir. Against Monaco, however, the drama was nowhere to be seen.
This time, Mbappe did not make an attempt to get the ball and simply allowed Neymar to assume the honours, which he did to preserve PSG's unbeaten record this term.
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Galtier confirmed afterwards that Mbappe was ahead of Neymar in the penalty order for the fixture, but they came to an agreement.
“On this match, Kylian Mbappé was the number 1 penalty taker and Neymar was number 2," he said on Amazon Prime's coverage.
"Ney made the decision to take the penalty after talking with Mbappé. Kylian congratulated him, that’s how it should be."
Neymar appeared to like a number of anti-Mbappe social media posts after their little spat and it's said that Sergio Ramos intervened in the dressing room, before Galtier held a clear-the-air meeting with the duo.
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Mbappe hit a hat-trick in PSG's 7-1 hammering of Lille last weekend, including a goal straight from kick off, but he drew a blank against his former side.
The World Cup winner produced an inexplicable open goal miss in the first half. Messi's powerful effort smacked the post and bounced back into play.
Mbappe was around six yards for the rebound but he too hit the woodwork when it looked like the net was about to bulge.