Kylian Mbappe has reacted to Emiliano Martinez’s provocative World Cup celebration after France lost the 2022 World Cup to Argentina.
Kylian Mbappe returned to domestic league action helping PSG cruised to a 2-1 win over Strasbourg as French Ligue 1 resumed after the World Cup break.
It was near jeopardy for the Ligue 1 side after they surrendered a first half 1-0 lead with an own goal from Marquinhos a few minutes into the second half.
They were also reduced to 10-man when Neymar was red-carded after he got another yellow card for diving inside Strasbourg’s box.
Meanwhile, the scoreline stood at 1-1 draw, and the French champions played with a one-man disadvantage.
Nevertheless, they continued to dominate proceedings and press for a winner as the game neared the end.
Kylain Mbappe once again rose to the challenge when he scored from the penalty spot to restore PSG’s lead.
The goal came in the last minute of stoppage, and it was not long before the final whistle was blown after the goal.
While Mbappe appeared to have gotten over the World Cup final loss to Argentina at the Lusail Stadium, he was grilled on his thoughts about how Argentina celebrated the win, especially the provocative gestures by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Speaking after the dramatic win over Strasbourg at Parc des Princes, Kylian Mbappe said;
“I won’t waste any energy on such futile things.
“I spoke with Messi after the game a little bit. I congratulated him because it was the quest of a lifetime for him – for me too – but I failed, and you always have to be a good sportsman.
“But celebrations are not my problem; I won’t waste any energy on such futile things. The most important thing for me is to give my best for my club.
“We are waiting for Léo to come back so we can start winning games and scoring goals again.”
Kylian Mbappe was the subject of provocative gestures pioneered by Argentina and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as Argentina celebrated their World Cup victory in their dressing room at the Lusail Stadium and Argentina’s capital, Bueno Aires.
Emiliano Martinez led his Argentina teammates to observe a sarcastic minute of silence as they danced and frolicked in the dressing room following the victory.
At Argentina’s capital Bueno Aires, Emiliano Martinez was again spotted holding a doll with the face of Kylian Mbappe as the open-top bus drove through the mammoth crowd.
Emiliano Martinez has been slammed by the French press for leading those disrespectful gestures against Kylian Mbappe.
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira also slammed Martinez for his antics, saying it undermines Argentina’s World Cup victory.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, who is also Martinez’s club manager, has equally expressed his disapproval of Martinez’s mockery of Kylian Mbappe after the World Cup victory.
Unai Emery said he will talk to Martinez when he returns to the club after the celebration.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe received a heroic welcome from PSG fans following his return to the team after the World Cup. His heroic World Cup showing for France nearly stripped Lionel Messi of the World Cup trophy.
Mbappe scored a hat-trick against the Argentines to level the game twice for Les Bleus. He emerged as the highest goal-scorer in the tournament with 8 goals, one better than Lionel Messi.
Mbappe cut short his off after the World Cup to rejoin PSG for the resumption of Ligue 1. Again, he rose to the occasion for 10-man PSG, scoring a stoppage-time penalty to seal a win for the team.
