Ligue 1: Kylian Mbappe and Adrien Rabiot punished by Thomas Tuchel

Paris Saint-Germain stars Kylian Mbappe and Adrien Rabiot were both punished by head coach Thomas Tuchel on Sunday, the boss excluded them from the starting line-up for the derby match against Marseille. The two players were expected to be in the starting eleven for such an important match, but they showed up late to a pre-game briefing and the German boss was not happy at all with that. Tuchel left both Mbappe and Rabiot on the bench, replacing them with Eric Maxim Choupo Moting and Julian Draxler. Mbappe had scored 14 goals in 15 games for club and country this season. The score was still level at 0-0 after an hour of play in Marseille, so Thomas Tuchel was forced to show some leniency, he replaced Choupo Moting with Mbappe on 62 minutes and the French international opened the scoring after just three minutes with a fine finish after one of his trademark sprints. Adrien Rabiot also entered the fray on 79 minutes, but it was Julian Draxler who settled the score with a 95th-minute effort. Adrien Rabiot has been linked with a move away from Paris Saint-Germain as his contract runs out at the end of the season. As for Mbappe, PSG paid 180 million euros for him when he was just 18 years old, making him the most expensive teenager in the history of football. Head coach Thomas Tuchel clarified things in the post-match press conference: "Why didn’t Mbappe and Rabiot play? It’s a disciplinary situation. We had to, and we have to, do that. You can think about as though it’s as if only one player comes late to one session, he is not out, but the collective is always more important than individuals. Always. Mbappe gave the best answer when he came onto the field. We expect that from him. But I can tell you that I don’t like to deprive myself of Kylian. I hate to play without him in a match like that, buy you have to make that decision. For me, personally, it was not a good evening. That said, I’m happy with those who were there and played." Paris Saint-Germain are currently leading the table in Ligue 1, eight points clear of second-placed Lille, and they are 1/100 at Bet365 to win the title once again this season.