This soccer thing might just be working out for Kylian Mbappé.
The Paris Saint-Germain and France star, who as a reminder is still just 24, made some history on Saturday by scoring his 201st goal for the club. That’s a new PSG record, and one that would be an amazing achievement for someone with over a decade at a given club. Mbappé, who only moved to PSG in August 2017, is just built a little different.
Mbappé set the record in the last moments of PSG’s 4-2 win over Nantes. It had been something of a rocky game for the Parisians, with Nantes fighting from 2-0 down to equalize before halftime. PSG nosed back in front thanks to Danilo Pereira’s 60th minute goal, before Mbappé secured his place in the PSG record books in stoppage time.
With Nantes building out of the back in pursuit of a last-gasp equalizer at the Parc des Princes, Timothée Pembélé applied some token pressure, and then pounced as the visitors made a complete mess of the situation.
Pembélé, as is often the case for PSG players, found himself in the box with two unreal options: feed Mbappé, or cut it back for Leo Messi lurking at the top of the box.
Maybe Pembélé never saw Messi, or maybe he just wanted to make sure he got the assist on a history-making goal, but he fed Mbappé — with Nantes defender Jean-Charles Castelletto on his back — eight yards from goal.
Mbappé posted up on Castelletto before rolling him, catching the defender leaning before turning to his left to fire past Alban Lafont.
KYLIAN MBAPPE BECOMES PSG's ALL-TIME TOP SCORER 🤩👏#Ligue1 #PSGFCN pic.twitter.com/611SIBmuUx
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) March 4, 2023
The goal took Mbappé past Edinson Cavani, who scored 200 times for PSG in 301 appearances between 2013-20. For Mbappé, it only took 247 games to break the Uruguayan’s club record.
“It’s a personal achievement but I also came here for collective achievements,” Mbappé said in quotes published by the AP. “I was still a young player when I arrived here. I’ve learned a lot here. I play to write history, and I always said that I want to do it here, in France, in its capital city.”
Following the match, Mbappé was presented with a “201” trophy to commemorate the occasion. Given that his contract runs through 2025 (and could end up going through 2027 if option years are taken up), there’s every chance that Mbappé will end up setting such a high mark for PSG that no one gets close to it for decades to come.
Mbappé is, perhaps unsurprisingly, back atop the Ligue 1 goalscorers’ table for the 2022-23 season, with 17 goals after 26 matches. That puts him two ahead of two CONCACAF-connected forwards, with Folarin Balogun (who remains eligible for the U.S. men’s national team) and Canada striker Jonathan David both tied for second with 15 goals apiece.
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