Mbappe should have scored four or five – Tuchel

Kylian Mbappe may have scored twice in Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-0 victory over Nimes on Saturday, but Thomas Tuchel felt his forward should have at least doubled that tally. 

Mbappe moved onto 51 Ligue 1 goals with his second-half double at the Parc des Princes, but it was far from his best performance for the runaway league leaders.

Having seen one strike ruled out for offside, Mbappe then saw another chalked off when he punched Thiago Silva’s knockdown beyond Paul Bernardoni.

He was duly booked for that infringement and when another two chances went begging it looked like it was not Mbappe’s day. However, he finished with a flourish to reach his personal milestone.

PSG head coach Tuchel was pleased for the 20-year-old but felt he should have been walking away with the match ball.

“Yes [he was very good], but today he has to score four or five [goals],” Tuchel told Canal Plus.

“[But] he’s a phenomenon, he has extraordinary qualities. He plays in a good team; we are able to create a lot of opportunities.

“It’s up to him, Edi [Edinson Cavani] and Angel [Di Maria] to finish the opportunities.”

career goals in @Ligue1_ENG
Goals number and on the #Ligue1 season today

@KMbappe pic.twitter.com/w0BQxKOnKb

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) February 23, 2019

Mbappe became the youngest player to reach 50 goals in Ligue 1 with the double and vowed to keep pushing himself to reach more career milestones.

“I work every day to try and help my team to the maximum,” he said. “I try to have fun too.

“Football is still fun. Scoring goals and breaking records is what drives me. I always assume that one day someone will come and do better, so you always have to go beyond your limits.”

While PSG were not at their fluent best, Tuchel was pleased with his side’s mentality and determination, as Mbappe’s two goals came inside the last 21 minutes.

“In the first half Nimes tried to close the space, but in the second half we played very well, with a lot of quality,” he added.

“We should have scored more goals because we had a lot of great opportunities.”