Luis Enrique believes Kylian Mbappe can continue to develop at Paris St Germain as the forward prepares to face Metz on his birthday.
Wednesday’s Ligue 1 clash at the Parc des Princes coincidences with Mbappe’s 25th birthday, with the France international having already hit 16 league goals in 15 games this season.
Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in France’s World Cup final defeat to Argentina, has been linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, reports surfaced last week suggesting Mbappe’s relationship with Enrique has soured – but the Spaniard insists he wants to see the former Monaco man continue to make waves in Paris.
“Kylian is still very young at 25,” he told reporters at his press conference ahead of the visit of Metz.
“He is the age of my son which is quite something. I hope that Kylian Mbappe achieves so much more success both collectively and individually.
“We hope that will be here at PSG and we hope to help him develop.
“Of course, he is at a fantastic level and I’ve had the chance to get to know him as a person. So I am very lucky to have a player like him in my squad.
“With everything he brings, his individual statistics, he is impressive. He is at the top of world football”
PSG lead the way in Ligue 1, while Metz sit just three points clear of the relegation zone following their return to the top flight.
Despite the gap, Enrique is not expecting an easy night against Laszlo Boloni’s side.
“It will be a really difficult game,” he said.
“They will leave us with very little spaces to attack. We will need to be very precise and accurate to exploit those spaces.”
Enrique took charge in the French capital in the summer and has enjoyed his first half-season coaching in Ligue 1.
“I’m very pleased with the first half of the season in terms of results,” he added.
“Sometimes there were points when we weren’t so good but we are top of Ligue 1 and we hope to stay there.
“It is just the beginning, the most difficult part is still to be done in the second half of the season.”
PSG will be without Ousmane Dembele for the game, the winger sitting out as a precaution over a potential hamstring injury.
Madrid's two-goal hero Diaz turns focus to Champions League glory after Granada win
Real Madrid swept aside already relegated Granada in LaLiga on Saturday but Los Blancos attacker Brahim Diaz says all focus is on lifting the Champions League.
Diaz was twice on target as Madrid eased to a 4-0 away victory, with Fran Garcia and Arda Guler also finding the net for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
Madrid had already been crowned LaLiga champions last weekend before edging through their Champions League semi-final clash with Bayern Munich in midweek.
The Spanish giants meet Borussia Dortmund in UEFA's showpiece at Wembley Stadium on June 1 – and the Champions League trophy was on Diaz's mind after defeating Granada.
"We all wanted to show that we want to get maximum points in the league. I'm very happy with the goals," Diaz told RMTV.
"I reached 12 goals and seven assists. It's very easy to play here, with these team-mates.
"The most important thing is the titles. We already have the [Spanish] Super Cup, the league and we want the Champions League."
Granada remain in 19th place with 21 points, while 15th-placed Mallorca's victory over Las Palmas earlier in the day confirmed their relegation after just one season in the top flight.
"You could have expected it, of course, but when Mallorca wins it becomes mathematical and getting relegated, it's one of the most complicated games we've ever played," Granada's Carlos Neva told DAZN.
"I told my team-mates that we should finish fighting, with our heads held high. We should enjoy the top flight, because we don't know if we'll ever play in it again."
Madrid head coach Ancelotti, meanwhile, had words of encouragement for the relegated side.
"In sport you have to look at defeat too, it has to be an opportunity to do better in the future," the Italian told his post-match press conference.
"Granada is an important club and they will try everything to get promoted next season and they have the chance to do it."
Terzic slams Mainz showing after Dortmund suffer Champions League hangover
Edin Terzic warned Borussia Dortmund must swiftly forget about their Champions League heroics in Paris after a 3-0 humbling by Mainz on Saturday.
Lee Jae-Sung twice punished a sloppy Dortmund performance after Leandro Barreiro had opened the scoring for relegation-battling Mainz in their Bundesliga clash.
That abject performance came after BVB managed a 1-0 away victory against Paris Saint-Germain, progressing to the Champions League final after a 2-0 aggregate victory over Luis Enrique's side.
Dortmund head coach Terzic was far from impressed after defeat against Mainz left his side four points adrift of fourth-placed RB Leipzig in the German top flight.
"Let's let Paris be Paris and talk about last week and this week," Terzic told Sky Sport Germany.
"The starting position was similar to last week. Except now we were always late and outnumbered.
"It was a deserved defeat, especially because of the first half."
Marco Reus echoed Terzic's sentiment after Dortmund came crashing back down to earth following their European success.
"If you see the first half, it's deserved, even at the highest level," the Dortmund veteran added.
"We expect more from ourselves. There was still a lot at stake for Mainz.
"It was important for us to continue to gain self-confidence. That just was not good today. This is a pity."
Dortmund will hope to respond when they host Darmstadt next Saturday before their Champions League final against Real Madrid on June 1 at Wembley Stadium.
Wolves have work to do as promising season fizzles out, says O'Neil
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil says there is a "lot of work to be done" at Molineux ahead of next season, after their downturn continued with a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Michael Olise, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze were on target as Wolves were beaten in their final home game of the campaign, with the in-form Eagles making it five wins in six matches.
Wolves have won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions (two draws, seven defeats), a run which began with a dramatic FA Cup quarter-final collapse against Coventry City in March.
After beating Fulham 2-1 on March 9, O'Neil's team sat eighth in the Premier League table, just one point adrift of the top seven.
However, injuries to key attackers Pedro Neto, Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha stunted their momentum and a once-promising campaign will now fizzle out to a bottom-half finish.
O'Neil has previously said Wolves will not be able to spend big in the transfer market ahead of 2024-25, but he knows they need to strengthen.
"There's lots that we have to improve," he said. "In the first two thirds of the season we looked like a team chasing Europe, and in the last third of the season you could see the issues that we've had and those have come to light.
"As a football club, we need to have a real good look at the last few weeks.
"People are starting to come back, and we still haven't managed to regain that impetus and momentum that we had before.
"There's a lot of work to be done between now and the start of next season, and a tough away game next week at Anfield."
Wolves go to Liverpool for their last game of the season next week, as the Reds' final opponents under departing boss Jurgen Klopp.
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