Kylian Mbappe scored in stoppage time against Real Madrid to give Paris St Germain a slender 1-0 lead ahead of the second leg of the round of 16 tie. The Parisiens were dominant at home, but their record Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi had a night to forget.
Messi missed a penalty and was largely subdued against a team he tormented many times in a Barcelona shirt. With this new outfit, it was Mbappe who outshone the Argentine, constantly providing crucial passes and eventually netting the winner.
The stoppage time goal was a solo effort by the 2018 World Cup winner, dribbling past Real defenders Eder Militao and Lucas Vazquez before drilling the ball between ‘keeper Thibaut Courtois’s legs.
⏰ RESULTS ⏰
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😱 Mbappé hits last-gasp winner for Paris against Real Madrid
🔵 Mahrez, Foden, Sterling & Bernardo Silva (2) net as Manchester City win big at Sporting CP
🔝 Which players impressed you?#UCL
The stadium erupted and it was sweet relief for the home crowd after 21 failed attempts on goal by PSG.
Neymar, who has only just recovered from an injury, came on later in the game and combined well with Messi and Mbappe, but Courtois continued to deny the fearsome trio.
The second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu will be held on March 10. Madrid will be without Casemiro and Ferland Mendy, both of whom were booked. PSG will be hoping for the return of Real legend Sergio Ramos in time to play at his old hunting ground.
Five-star City
In the other round of 16 clash last night, Manchester City stamped its credentials as the title favourite with an imperial performance against Portuguese side Sporting CP.
The English champions won 5-0 playing away, with Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva playing demolisher in chief. His two goals and one assist were enough to prove it was a mismatch of sorts in the knockout stage of the continental tournament.
Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling were the other goalscorers for Pep Guardiola’s men, who are also on top of the Premier League table.
City are yet to win a Champions League title, the closest they came to it was last year, losing in the final to Chelsea.
In the other games for this week, Liverpool will be playing Italian champions Inter Milan tonight, as will Bayern Munich and Norwegian side RB Salzburg.
