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French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) welcomed Real Madrid to the Parc des Princes for the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash on Tuesday night.
Despite dominating proceedings, the hosts needed a Kylian Mbappe solo goal in the 94th minute to secure a narrow 1-0 win over Los Blancos. The return leg is scheduled for March 9th at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
Playing at home, PSG were quick to take control of the game. Their passing and movement caused Real Madrid all sorts of trouble, especially down their right flank. Marco Asensio and Dani Carvajal were no match for Kylian Mbappe and Nuno Mendes’ pace, and were caught on their heels more often than not.
The hosts’ first chance of the match came in the fifth minute itself when Mbappe set up Angel Di Maria inside the Madrid box. The Argentine failed to wrap his foot around it and saw his effort sail over the bar. A few minutes later, the PSG No.7 got in on the action and forced a save out of Thibaut Courtois.
The Parisians won a penalty 15 minutes into the second half, but Lionel Messi could not outsmart Courtois to put his team ahead. Neymar’s introduction in the 73rd minute saw the hosts up the ante even further but could not find a way past the indomitable Courtois. Much to the heartbreak of the Madridistas, Courtois was finally beaten right at the death, with Mbappe proving why he is rated so highly.
It was a mixed night for the Ligue 1 leaders, one in which some players fired on all cylinders while a couple missed their opportunities.
Here are the three PSG players who performed and two who underperformed in their 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League:
Performed: Achraf Hakimi
Former Real Madrid right-back Achraf Hakimi went up against quick-footed Vinicius Junior on Tuesday night.
Keeping up with the pace of the Brazilian left-winger was hardly straightforward, but the Moroccan made it seem like child’s play at the Parc des Princes.
Not only did he keep a lid on Vinicius Jr., but he also dashed down his flank whenever an opportunity came knocking.
He completed two dribbles on the night against his former employers and provided three excellent key passes.
Underperformed: Angel Di Maria
PSG right-winger Angel Di Maria endured an uncharacteristically quiet night on Tuesday. He often looked out of ideas and was easily outmuscled by Real Madrid midfielders.
The Argentine also failed to get even a single shot on target and gave the ball away cheaply in important areas.
Against his former club, the winger lost eight ground duels, gave possession away nine times and committed four fouls.
A lackluster display by the immensely talented PSG stalwart.
Performed: Marco Verratti
PSG midfielder Marco Verratti locked horns with Real Madrid maestro Luka Modric in midfield on Tuesday night.
The Italian is known to hold his own, but doing so against the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner was not going to be easy. Verratti took a little time to get into the game, but once he did there was no turning back.
The 29-year-old outshone Luka Modric in every category imaginable. He carried the ball better, his distribution stretched the Madrid midfield thin, and his accurate passes into the box caused havoc in Los Blancos’ defense.
Over the course of the match, the Italy international registered 94 accurate passes, completed three dribbles, and provided six key passes.
To top it off, Verratti also won eight duels and attempted three tackles. A magisterial display by the PSG mastermind.
Underperformed: Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi and Real Madrid have a bloody and bitter history. The diminutive Argentine crushed their dreams, title ambitions many times in Barcelona’s colors. On Tuesday, he had the opportunity to do the same for PSG.
Unfortunately for the home supporters, Messi could not quite turn on the charm last night and cut a rather disappointing figure up top.
As always, Messi was popping up in dangerous positions and used his vision to put multiple key passes (4) into the Real Madrid box. However, the explosiveness we associate with him in front of goal was largely missing.
To make matters worse, the 34-year-old failed to bury the game when the opportunity came knocking, missing a spot-kick in the 62nd minute.
Messi’s left-footed strike was unconvincing and was at a decent height for Courtois to save. The Belgian guessed the direction of his strike easily and parried it away to keep his side in the contest.
The poor spot-kick could very well come back to haunt PSG in the return leg at the Bernabeu next month.
Performed: Kylian Mbappe
Real Madrid’s no.1 transfer target Kylian Mbappe aced his final audition for the club, showing exactly what he can bring to the table. His pace tore through Marco Asensio, Luka Modric and Dani Carvajal, leaving Madrid’s right flank ripe for picking.
Against his alleged dream club, Mbappe registered seven shots, four of which were on target, and two were blocked. He also drew a premature challenge out of Carvajal in the second half that resulted in a penalty for PSG.
Unfortunately, Messi failed to hit the back of the next from the resultant spot-kick.
In his final act, Mbappe scored an outstanding solo goal to win the match for PSG. He once again dashed into the box from the left flank, beating Carvajal and Eder Militao’s challenges before slotting the ball between Courtois’s outstretched legs.
A brilliant individual effort by one of the best players in the world.
