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Ex-African giants boss slams PSG over Mbappe handling

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Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has been criticised over his handling of Kylian Mbappe.
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has been criticised over his handling of Kylian Mbappe.

A former African giants' boss has slammed Paris Saint-German manager Luis Enrique over his handling of Kylian Mbappe ahead of the French side's big clash against FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

The PSG boss has continued to show that he is under no obligation to centre his plans around Mbappe, with the 25-year-old reported to have already told the club in January he will leave at the end of the season.

The France international has since seen his game time marginally reduced at the Parc des Princes, playing the full 90 minutes only once in Ligue 1 since the beginning of February.

While it is increasingly clear that Enrique's plans are shifting further away from Mbappe, however, former Ivory Coast boss Sabri Lamouchi feels the Spanish tactician is going about the situation in the wrong way.

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"We know the personality, the style of play, the trophies won by Luis Enrique and you have to respect that, but the fact that he didn't put his best player at the heart of his game plan is not normal," the former France international, who managed the Elephants between 2012 and 2014, told L'Equipe.

"Personally, my best player will go straight to the heart of the game, because he'll make the others better or because he will attract opposition players, and that will free up space elsewhere.

"What I notice factually is that Deschamps made this choice with the national team, and the results from the last two World Cups speak for themselves.

"The question is not even to put him in the best conditions, but to use him in a way that makes life hard for opponents. Let's take the example of last Wednesday. If Enrique had put Kylian in the middle, he could've made life harder for [Pau] Cubarsi and [Ronald] Araujo, arriving at speed. 

“With quick players around him like [Bradley] Barcola and [Ousmane] Dembele, PSG could have caused more damage than they did."

Barca currently hold a 3-2 advantage heading into the second leg against Les Parisiens at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night.

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