Talking about taking one for the team
Paris Saint-Germain failed to make up any ground on Ligue 1 leaders Lille on Sunday night as the two sides played out a goalless draw at Stade Pierre Mauroy.
Without Neymar or Kylian Mbappe in the line-up, PSG could only muster one shot on target against a well drilled Lille side, and it could have been worse but for Presnel Kimpembe, and this gloriously selfless tackle.
In the 78th minute, Lille launch a counter-attack from an unsuccessful PSG corner and find themselves four against one. The one, Kimpembe, does his best to position himself to prevent a killer pass. The ball is played infield, prompting Kimpembe to turn back in. At some point in this process, the Frenchman pulls his hamstring – it’s noticeable as he changes from a spring to a hobble, barely able to bend his right leg.
But knowing exactly what will happen if he gives up and goes to ground – a Lille goal – he has no intention of stopping.
Running on pure adrenaline but running out of steam, he launches himself into a tackle and manages to win the ball cleanly, without injuring anyone (bar himself) or giving away a foul. It’s a true defender’s tackle, and one the physios at the Parc des Princes may not thank him for, but one Thomas Tuchel will.
He was then immediately substituted for Mitchell Bakker.
Absolutely unreal from Presnel Kimpembe, pulling his hamstring but fighting through the pain to pull off this incredible tackle.
Talk about taking one for the team 💪👏 pic.twitter.com/i0d7gN9PkZ
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) December 21, 2020
The PSG man tweeted a video of the tackle, captioned: “One for the team.” I’ll say.
