Champions League: Mbappe travels with PSG to Man City as fierce duel looms

Kylian Mbappe has travelled with the PSG squad to Manchester on Monday as the French champions look to overhaul a first-leg deficit tomorrow night.

Manchester City hold a 2-1 lead going into the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Etihad and Mbappe’s involvement is currently up in the air after he picked up a calf problem.

Mauricio Pochettino rested his star forward on Saturday for the 2-1 win against Lens in Ligue 1, with the PSG boss able to call upon an otherwise fully-fit squad on Tuesday, aside from long-term absentee Juan Bernat and the suspended Idrissa Gueye.

The only other person missing from the squad is Gueye, who is banned following his red card last week.

The PSG midfielder received his marching orders after a poorly-timed tackle on Ilkay Gundogan as the game slipped away from the hosts at the Parc des Princes.

Despite the deficit, defender Alessandro Florenzi insists the team are desperate to give the fans ‘something magical’ as the Parisians strive to reach the final for the second year running.

‘In these types of games you don’t feel fatigue,’ Florenzi said.

‘The truth is that you don’t feel fatigue because everything is at stake, motivation, pride, there is a team, there is a city that all want a good result.

‘Obviously we’ll do everything we can to give the fans something magical. That’s what we want, so what Ney said about fatigue is absolutely right. It will be above all a mental game and we want to take it really home.

‘I think that the less you prepare for these games mentally the better it is. If you start thinking about it 3 or 4 days before I think you arrive exhausted.

‘There are games that prepare themselves as we say and this is one of them. We’re going to go into it with a lot of heart, pride and desire to win to try and make history.’

City, meanwhile, are trying to reach the final for the first time in their history, as Pep Guardiola’s side chase glory on the European stage.

DailyMail Online