Paris Saint-Germain opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory thanks to Mbappe over fellow Group H heavyweights Juventus at the Parc des Princes, their first win against the Italian club.
Kylian Mbappe’s two first-half goals placed the French giants in command at the halftime, but they did not completely capitalise on their dominance and allowed Juventus back into the game in the second half.
While the hosts continued to have the better chances, Weston McKennie scored for Juve, forcing Christophe Galtier’s side to hold on to the one-goal triumph.
The victory is PSG’s first in nine encounters with Juventus in all competitions, and it puts them on top of Group H after one game, level with Benfica after the Portuguese club’s 2-0 victory against Maccabi Haifa.
Galtier’s team is among the favourites to win the championship for the first time in their history this season. they demonstrated both why they are so highly regarded and why some fear they will fail once more.
Neymar looped an incredible pass over the defence for Mbappe, who watched the ball over his shoulder before sending a first-time volley past the keeper – a magnificent link-up that hinted that the current rumours of a schism between the two players had at least not spilt out onto the field.
5 – Kylian Mbappé has scored within the opening five minutes of a UEFA Champions League match on five occasions; only Lionel Messi (6) has done so more often in the competition. Rocket. pic.twitter.com/Bo7m6seZUd
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 6, 2022
Mbappe quickly increased his tally for the night, this time shooting home following a one-two with Achraf Hakimi, after scoring in five consecutive Champions League matches for the first time in his career.
At halftime, it appeared that PSG were far more likely to add to their tally than Juventus were to re-enter the game, but the hosts let up on the gas, and Juventus almost punished them for it.
McKennie’s header into an unguarded nett after a stranded Gianluigi had got nowhere near Filip Kostic’s cross cut the deficit. There were additional scares when Donnarumma stopped Dusan Vlahovic. Manuel Locatelli created panic in the defence to almost grab a dramatic late equaliser.
Mbappe had the opportunity to put the game away by setting up Neymar for a straightforward finish. He decided to take the shot himself and skewed it into the side-netting. Later, after excellent teamwork with Neymar and Lionel Messi, he again missed the target.
Galtier made adjustments to try to defend his team’s lead, including the departure of Messi, but his strikers were in no such mood and pressed for a deadly third in the last stages, with Neymar and Mbappe both wasting decent chances late on.
See Also: Chelsea ‘planning Graham Potter approach after sacking Thomas Tuchel’
They didn’t need it in the end, as PSG started their Group H campaign with a win, a streak they’ll look to maintain away to Maccabi Haifa next week.
Meanwhile, Juventus will visit Benfica in their second group game next week, looking to get off to a good start and pick up a much-needed win after a poor start to the season.
COMMENTS