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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) continued their winning start to the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday (September 14).
Goals from Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr. helped the Parisians fight back from a goal down to pick up all three points.
Tjaronn Chery gave the Israeli outfit a shock lead in the 24th minute, directing a volley past Gianluigi Donnarumma after receiving an inch-perfect cross from Dolev Haziza.
However, PSG continued to dominate possession beyond that and eventually got their reward. Messi equalized for the visitors eight minutes before half-time after a cross from Mbappe fell favorably into his path.
Midway through the second period, the Frenchman put PSG in front with a neat finish from Messi's assist before Neymar sealed the contest in the closing stages.
With their win on Matchday 2, PSG remain at the top of Group H with six points, ahead of SL Benfica by virtue of more goals scored. The Portuguese outfit notably picked up a 2-1 win away to Juventus on Wednesday.
Maccabi Haifa, meanwhile, are rock bottom in the table with zero points. They are level with Juventus, but have a worse goal difference.
Here are the player ratings for PSG from their win in Israel:
Gianluigi Donnarumma - 6/10
The PSG custodian looked shaky at times and made a few mistakes with the ball at his feet, although there was nothing he could do about Chery's opener. However, Donnarumma made four important saves across both halves.
Sergio Ramos - 7/10
Ramos made a few vital blocks against Haifa and also looked to contribute at the opposite end by striding forward to join the attack. The Spaniard was largely incisive with his passes, posting a pass accuracy of 90%. He also recorded two clearances, an interception and blocked a shot.
Ramos could've bagged a goal in stoppage time but blazed his shot over the bar from close range.
Marquinhos - 6/10
The PSG skipper didn't get involved much and was spared the blushes by the offside flag after forward Frantzdy Pierrot shook him off with incredible ease to score. Marquinhos recovered from that moment to end the game with two clearances and three successful duels.
Danilo Pereira - 6.5/10
Pereira forced a corner and then blocked Vitinha's goalward effort in the same passage of play. He didn't do much wrong apart from that and looked to push his side forward, notably completing all six of his long-ball attempts.
Nordi Mukiele - 6.5/10
A poor touch from him allowed midfielder Abu Fani to attempt a shot which forced a good save from Donnarumma. Mukiele also had a chance to score a tap-in but the ball was cleared before he could get to it. He laid out one key pass and made one tackle and interception apiece on the night.
Marco Verratti - 6.5/10
Verratti gave the ball away for Maccabi Haifa's goal. However, the midfield metronome was key to PSG's play once again, controlling the tempo and laying accurate passes after that mistake. He also set up Neymar for their third goal of the evening with a sumptuous ball over the top.
Vitinha - 8/10
Vitinha has made great strides in the Parisians' midfield since arriving from FC Porto this summer and had another stormer in Haifa last night. He was excellent in tight spaces, made passes with excellent accuracy and complemented Verratti extremely well.
Vitinha ended the contest with 90% pass accuracy, two accurate long balls and two successful dribbles. The midfielder also won two fouls and four of his five ground duels while making a block and an interception apiece.
Nuno Mendes - 7/10
Mendes continued his solid start to the season with another good display against Maccabi Haifa. He ventured forward from the left to good effect while also coming up trumps defensively, making three clearances and two tackles.
The wing-back could've scored in the second half but saw his header snuffed out by goalkeeper Josh Cohen.
Lionel Messi - 8.5/10
Messi posed a massive threat to Maccabi Haifa all night with seven shots (three on target) and managed to find the back of the net once too. The goal saw him move past arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo to top the list of players who have scored against the highest number of opponents in the competition.
Messi has now netted against a staggering 39 different teams in the UEFA Champions League.
The Argentine then went on to assist Mbappe with a precise through-ball and the Frenchman made no mistake to put PSG ahead for the first time on the night.
Neymar Jr. - 7.5/10
Neymar continued his scintillating form by scoring his 11th goal of the season in all competitions from Verratti's assist. He saw another effort ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee moments later and subsequently went into the books for dissent.
The Brazilian was excellent overall, completing 94% of his passes, laying out a game-high three key passes and also completing a dribble.
Kylian Mbappe - 8/10
PSG's golden boy put up another eye-catching performance. Haifa had no answer to Mbappe's prolific ability on the ball as he completed six dribbles, while topping it all off with a well-taken goal too.
The Frenchman also won a commendable nine out of 12 ground duels.
Substitutes
Fabian Ruiz - 6/10
Ruiz replaced Vitinha in the 74th minute. He linked up brilliantly with Messi on a couple of occasions but it didn't yield anything. The Spaniard completed one successful dribble and 80% of his attempted passes.
Achraf Hakimi - 5.5/10
Hakimi came on for Mukiele with seven minutes of regulation time to play. The Morocco international was beaten late on by Mavis Tchibota but Ramos was on hand to deflect his cross. He got only five touches on the ball in total and completed all four of his pass attempts.
Carlos Soler - N/A
Soler replaced Neymar in stoppage time. The former Valencia star merely came on to see the game off, but laid out a key pass during his very brief cameo.
