'Kylian Mbappe, all day' - Thierry Henry admits he'd prefer to coach Real Madrid star over Erling Haaland because he has 'more talent' than Man City frontman

The much-anticipated Champions League last 16 playoff first-leg clash at the Etihad Stadium saw Haaland score a brace while Mbappe struck once for Real Madrid en route to their thrilling 3-2 comeback victory on Tuesday evening. City were leading until the 85th minute but goals from Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham left City with an uphill task in the second leg.

Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Micah Richards, who are part of the CBS Sports Champions League coverage team, opened up a debate over who is the better player between Mbappe and Haaland. As the only former striker on the panel, Henry was asked to evaluate the two superstars and determine who he considered superior, and his response was unequivocal.

"Kylian, for me, has more of a pass," Henry stated. "I'll explain. This is a guy that's trying to play as a nine for one and a half years. They tried to do it at Paris Saint-Germain and it didn't work out too much. Now he is doing it at Real Madrid, the biggest club in Europe. He has to adapt to that."

He contrasted this with Haaland’s career trajectory, pointing out that the Norwegian striker has always played as a traditional No.9.

"This guy has been playing as a nine since the beginning of his career," the Arsenal legend argued. "We thought that they were going to be the two guys that were going to come after [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo. But now, instead of having a confirmation of what they are, people are still questioning the way they play. But not the stats, because the stats are magnificent in terms of goals. Maybe not the two best, but they are top. People will argue. People will say Mbappe. Some people will say Vinicius [Junior]. Some people will say Lamine Yamal is coming. Whatever. I'm just saying it is not a sure thing. We thought it was going to be a sure thing."

When Carragher asked Henry which of the two he would prefer to have in his team as a manager, the Frenchman didn’t hesitate.

"Mbappe, all day," he said. "Because he does - or offers - different options. For a coach, he can play on the right, he can play on the left, and he can play in the middle. Can Haaland play any position other than a nine?"

To illustrate his point, Henry posed a tactical question to his fellow analysts: Which player would they rather defend against?

"I'd prefer Haaland," Richards replied. "Because you always know he wants to run in behind. Mbappe can go both ways."

"I'm the same as Big Meeks," Carragher added. "But I also want to ask you, if you were to coach - and in an ideal world, you want a striker to do everything - but if you're the coach and you've got Haaland, and he doesn't do these things, but he's scoring you 30-plus goals a season, are you not happy with that? Do you not think, 'well, okay, I'm going to get somebody else to do these other things, because I can't take that away from my team?'"

Henry’s response was firm: "The perfectionist side of my brain would be like, 'you're scoring goals, you're always going to do that, but can you be better? Can you be better for the team? Can you do something when the team cannot help you?'

"I keep on repeating that, and I don't care. Scoring goals doesn't mean you play well. That doesn't mean you help your team the way you should have helped them. Sometimes your team-mates bail you out, more often than not. So yes, I would show him clips to make sure that he can be better at times. I think that you have to make a player better, not only take what he can bring you."

While Mbappe may have received Henry’s backing, his work is far from finished. The France international must be at his very best when City visit the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday for the second leg of the tie. With a one-goal lead and home advantage, Real Madrid will be favourites to progress. For City, the challenge is clear: find a way to overturn the deficit, or crash out of the tournament early.