RMC journalist Daniel Riolo was left amazed by Kylian Mbappe missing a twice-taken penalty in Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) 3-1 win against Montpellier Herault on Wednesday (1 February).
Les Parisiens were awarded a spot-kick in the seventh minute for Christopher Julien's tug on Sergio Ramos inside the box. With the score at 0-0, Mbappe saw his penalty kick saved by goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte.
But VAR ruled that the French goalkeeper was off his line too early, and the PSG forward was given a second bite at the cherry. Lecomte guessed right once again and dove to his left to tip the ball onto the post.
The rebound fell to Mbappe, who skied his first-time shot over the bar. Surprised by what he had seen transpire on the pitch, Riolo asked if the former AS Monaco forward was playing a prank and if there was a hidden camera.
He tweeted:
"Is it a Mbappé joke or what? Is there a hidden camera?"
Unfortunately, for Kylian Mbappe, it was all too real. The pressure of taking a penalty also increases when Lionel Messi is on the pitch.
In the Frenchman's defense, Lecomte made two brilliant saves and the rebound came at him too quickly. Fans, nevertheless, would expect a player of his caliber to put at least one of the three chances away.
PSG saw two goals ruled out by VAR later in the game — one from Lionel Messi — before Fabian Ruiz finally opened the scoring in the 55th minute. Messi got on the scoresheet 17 minutes later to score his 14th goal in 23 games across competitions this season.
Arnaud Nordin scored just before the 90th-minute mark to make the last few minutes of the game nervy for PSG. But Warren-Zaire Emery's stoppage-time goal sealed the 3-1 scoreline.
Kylian Mbappe's PSG woes continue with injury vs Montpellier
For the first time in over five years, Kylian Mbappe was substituted in the first half of a Ligue 1 game after being forced off with an injury in the 21st minute.
The last time it happened was in his team's 2-1 loss to Olympique Lyonnais in January 2018 when was stretchered off the field in the 36th minute. Luckily for PSG, the injury doesn't seem to be as serious this time around.
Speaking after the game at the Stade de la Mosson, Manager Christophe Galtier told reporters (h/t Sportstar):
"Concerning Kylian, there was a challenge after a dribble, he took a blow on the knee, behind the knee, so on the knee and on the muscle. Is it a bruise, a haematoma? We don’t know yet."
Kylian Mbappe has failed to either score or assist in his past four league games for Les Parisiens.