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Kylian Mbappe v Gonzalo Higuain – who had a better game?


Monaco’s young pretenders and the experienced battlers of Juventus went head-to-head at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday night, with Kylian Mbappe and Gonzalo Higuain the class acts in each side.
Mbappe, 18, is setting Ligue 1 and the Champions League alight with his impressive performances this term, while former Napoli hitman Higuain is still lethal at a more advanced stage of his career.
Here, Press Association Sport looks at the two strikers’ performances in this semi-final first leg.

Goal threat

Mbappe’s goals helped Monaco pass Borussia Dortmund and reach the last four, and he has 14 in the league. He regularly tested his aim against Juve, worrying Gianluigi Buffon – 21 years his senior – with shots after cutting inside from the left. However, he could not beat the veteran goalkeeper.
Higuain had an early wobble when he slipped instead of claiming Paulo Dybala’s clever pass but he made up for it by capping a fantastic team goal with a low shot into the bottom corner. It was his 30th strike in all competitions for Juve, and he extended that tally with a toe-poked conversion on the hour.

Creativity

When he was not feeding on the assists provided by Bernardo Silva, Thomas Lemar and the rest of Monaco’s incisive attacking unit, Mbappe was living up to comparisons with Thierry Henry by storming down the left before switching feet to pull makeshift right-back Andrea Barzagli out of position. That way, Radamel Falcao was able to get into shooting positions, and the Colombian did enjoy chances.
It was more set in stone for Juve, who rely on Dybala to create chances for Higuain, although natural full-back Dani Alves was an enthusiastic outlet in the principality. Higuain set himself up for the opener, slowing down a counter-attacking raid just long enough to allow Alves to occupy Kamil Glik, with the Polish defender baffled as his opponent backheeled a one-two assist for the Argentinian.

Conclusion

The night belonged to Higuain. Mbappe has a long – and hopefully bright – future but following Monaco’s 2-0 first-leg defeat it looks like he will not become a Champions League winner this year.
Of course the younger man was unfortunate to find himself up against Buffon, who rolled back the years to enjoy one of his best European nights, but Mbappe struggled to mix up his shots and the Juve defence soon learned how to shut down his runs and thus minimise his threat.
Higuain, with his physicality and guile, put all his years of experience to good use by playing a patient game, refusing to rush forward and potentially waste the pass that led to his first goal. His timing for the second, not as easy as it looked, was perfect, and he may well have sent Juve to Cardiff.

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