'Mission impossible' - Kovac admits Monaco will struggle to silence Mbappe in PSG clash

Posted Saturday, February 20, 2021 by Goal.com

The striker is on fire after netting a hat-trick against Barcelona and the Monaco boss is aware it will take more than one player to stop him

Monaco coach Niko Kovac says his side will have to work together to stop Kylian Mbappe when they face Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

Mbappe leads the Ligue 1 scoring chart with 16 goals and enhanced his reputation as one of the world's best strikers on Tuesday when he netted a hat-trick in PSG's 4-1 Champions League win against Barcelona.

Monaco sit fourth in Ligue 1 but have conceded more than twice as many goals as PSG and more than any other team in the top eight.

What did Kovac say?
Kovac admits his side will have a hard time keeping Mbappe quiet in the French capital, but has faith that they can do it with teamwork.

"PSG are a world-class team. They score a lot of goals and Kylian Mbappe is currently in great shape," he said at a press conference.

"We must try to stop him. But it is not possible to do it with one player. We cannot stop Mbappe one on one. It's mission impossible. We must be united, we must take care of him together, but that can make other PSG players more free. We have to do a good physical and tactical job to compensate for that.

"We have the second best attack. Granted, we have the worst defence in the top four right now, but we also have some arguments to make. I think we really have to fight, stay united and above all outperform on Sunday evening, in order to bring something back from the Parc des Princes.

"If we take this game from the right end and manage to maintain a positive result over the minutes, that will give us the possibilities to bring something back from this trip."

PSG are confident and in good form
Kovac was impressed by PSG's performance at Camp Nou in midweek and believes they are gaining momentum amid their five-game winning run.

"I was rather satisfied at the end of the game. Everyone saw the quality of the service delivered by Paris Saint-Germain," he said.

"We all know that this team is growing, gaining momentum and progressing. We therefore expect a difficult match against them, but we do not go admitting defeat. We go there to play our match, to try to compete with them.

"It is difficult to know if this victory will give them even more motivation for the rest of the season. It's true that the big teams in the top five leagues tend to end up like a cannonball. We see their motivation increase tenfold in the final sprint. So I think this victory will have a positive effect for Paris. I just hope it doesn't take effect from Sunday's game."

PSG trail Ligue 1 leaders Lille by one point ahead of the weekend's games, while Monaco, who are unbeaten in their last 11 matches, sit five points behind Mauricio Pochettino's team.