Pochettino brands Mbappe ‘one of the best in the world’

PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino hailed Kylian Mbappe as “one of the best players in the world”, and revealed the young striker had promised him a famous Nou Camp win ahead of last night’s destruction of Barcelona.

Mbappe hit a stunning hat-trick as PSG ran out 4-1 winners in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

The hosts had taken an early lead through Lionel Messi’s penalty, but the Ligue 1 outfit were much the better side after that, with Mbappe spearheading easily the best performance of Pochettino’s brief reign so far.

Though Mbappe had already scored 18 times in all competitions before last night, there were suggestions that the 22-year-old was having a quiet season by his own high standards, but he illuminated the competition with a magnificent display.

“It’s obvious that Kylian is a great footballer,” Pochettino said.

“He proved that with his three goals but he also showed real commitment by getting involved with defensive work too. As well as being brilliant for the three goals, he put in a huge effort for the team when Barca were putting pressure on us.

“There’s no doubt that Kylian is one of the best players in the world, despite his young age. He’s already done extraordinary things, but we have to stay humble.”

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For Pochettino, who replaced the now Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel in Paris after he was sacked in December, the win was particularly sweet, given his long association with Barca’s rivals Espanyol, and the Argentine revealed Mbappe had vowed to deliver such a result a day before the game.

The PSG coach added: “Yesterday in our training session he asked me how many times I had won at the Camp Nou. I said once with Espanyol, and he assured me that tonight I’d win for a second time. He’s a top guy.”