Thomas Tuchel has made it clear that he wants Kylian Mbappe on the pitch at all times. However, after the match against Brugges, he took the opportunity to emphasise that he does not intend to force him and, when he comes out of an injury, he will not play the full 90 minutes.
Mbappe did not start in PSG's thrashing of Brugges away from home (0-5). He opted to stay on the bench instead.
And until he entered the pitch, the game could have been anyone's. He came on in the 52nd minute, changing the game from the minute he came on, until the end.
Mbappe scored a hat trick and it was a special game for him! After the game, Tuchel wanted to justify why he decided to leave the striker on the bench at the start of the game.
"It's not possible that Mbappe thinks that I want to play without him. He had a muscle injury, he played 15 minutes in Niza. Against Burgges he could not play the full 90 minutes," he stated.
Tuchel is not going to force his players. "It could be that he started the game and changed it in the second half from the bench, I chose the last option. He hasn't had any negative reaction in the muscle," he concluded.