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Champions League: Mbappe’s hat-trick powers PSG to 4-1 win over Barcelona

Kylian Mbappé netted a hat-trick at Camp Nou in the first leg of the round of 16

Mbappe-psg-barcelona-ap PSG's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring during the Champions League match against Barcelona | AP

Kylian Mbappe displayed brilliant dexterity to score a hat-trick to outplay Barcelona in their own backyard as Paris Saint Germain stunned the Catalans 4-1 in the Champions League round of 16 first leg on Tuesday.

Lionel Messi put Barcelona ahead from the penalty spot, but Mbappe scored five minutes after the Argentinian forward’s opener. With two more goals in the second half, Mbappe became the first player to score an away hat-trick at the Camp Nou in the Champions League since Andriy Shevchenko for Dynamo Kyiv in a 4-0 win in 1997.

Moise Kean also scored in the second half for PSG.

This is the first time the two teams are meeting since Barcelona made a comeback from a 4-0 loss to win against PSG 6-1 in the second leg at the same stage of the competition four years ago. However, with Barcelona running on fumes and Mbappe’s unbelievable form, it is unlikely that the former La Liga champions could stage a comeback in Paris in the second leg after Ronald Koeman’s team was completely outplayed at home.

The second leg will be played on March 10 in Paris.

“It was a very important match for us. We wanted to come here and win. We did that in style. Tonight was magnificent, but we haven’t won anything yet,” Mbappé said after the match.

“There’s no doubt that Kylian is one of the best players in the world, despite his young age. He’s already done extraordinary things. But we have to stay humble,” said PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino

Koeman, meanwhile, admitted that PSG was better and it is “very difficult” to come back from a first leg loss at home.

“They were better than us. They were very efficient, especially Mbappé. In the second half we had problems and PSG showed that they are physically much stronger than us.”

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