Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Manchester City
Lionel Messi is finally off the mark for Paris Saint-Germain, and he picked quite a game to rediscover his magical scoring touch.
The Argentine returned from his recent knee injury and scored a sensational goal which sealed a 2-0 win against Manchester City in their big Champions League clash.
City had not one but two great chances to equalise in the first half after Idrissa Gueye’s early goal put the Parisians ahead. But the English champions failed to capitalise as they suffered their first defeat since the opening game of the Premier League season.
Highlights of the game
The big Champions League 2021 news before kick-off was good news for PSG: Messi was fit to play and start after missing PSG’s last two games due to a knee injury. And things would get even better for the home side as they took the lead after just eight minutes.
However, it was not one of their vaunted front three of Messi, Neymar, or Kylian Mbappe who scored their opener. Instead, it was defensive midfielder Idrissa Gueye who blasted the ball into the top corner after Neymar had fluffed his shot following an Mbappe cutback.
City responded quickly after their early setback, and they really should have equalised on 26 minutes. After Raheem Sterling’s header from point-blank range crashed off the crossbar, Bernardo Silva quickly pounced on the rebound. But the Portuguese somehow conspired to hit the crossbar again despite having a wide-open goal to aim at.
City kept up the pressure on PSG for the rest of the first half and created majority of the chances. Joao Cancelo’s powerful shot from distance was well-caught by Gigi Donnarumma, and Kevin De Bruyne also fired straight at the big Italian.
PSG almost landed a crucial counterpunch on 38 minutes, though. Mbappe again got in behind the City backline and set up Ander Herrera for a shot, but the former Manchester United man’s effort was parried over the bar by Ederson.
The second half saw more City pressure as they continued their search for an equaliser. De Bruyne again forced a good save from Donnarumma, who used his leg to deny the Belgian.
But as City committed men forward, the threat of a PSG counterattack always loomed. It very nearly led to a second goal as Neymar burst his way through, but Kyle Walker did enough to force the Brazilian to shoot wide.
And after City could not capitalise on a few more chances, Messi made his own big chance on 74 minutes – and he took it. In typical Messi fashion, he started cutting in from the right wing, did a quick one-two with Mbappe, and unleashed a left-footed strike that flew straight into the top corner. A classic Messi goal.
That goal finally knocked the wind out of Man City’s sails as PSG saw out the final 16 minutes without too much trouble to secure their first win of this Champions League campaign.
Key statistics
Much like in their weekend win at Chelsea, Manchester City looked to have the upper hand in terms of the final statistics. They controlled 54 per cent of possession and comfortably outshout PSG, 18-6.
But unlike the match at Stamford Bridge, City fell behind early and did not get the good fortune they had with the Gabriel Jesus goal.
Although, Gigi Donnarumma deserves a lot of credit for keeping City out. After recent reports citing his growing unhappiness at being behind Keylor Navas in Paris, Donnarumma staked his claim to start with an impressive clean sheet that saw him make seven saves.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi continues to make history. His first goal for PSG marks the 17th straight season he has scored in the Champions League, tying Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema for the all-time record.
Messi is now up to 121 career Champions League goals, 14 behind old foe Cristiano Ronaldo for first place.
What’s next?
Manchester City’s incredibly tough run of games makes one last stop this weekend as they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool, a match that SBOTOP will no doubt cover in great detail. The Reds had a much better midweek than City as they thrashed Porto 5-1 in their Champions League match.
Meanwhile, PSG will look to continue their perfect start in Ligue 1 and get their ninth win in a row when they take on Rennes.
With another international break coming up, both teams will return to Champions League action in three weeks’ time. The Champions League 2021 betting odds will back City to bounce back against Club Brugge, while PSG host struggling RB Leipzig, who lost to Brugge at home.
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