Maccabi Haifa dared to dream in this game and were good value for their lead. They even had some very good moments following Messi’s equaliser but ultimately PSG’s attacking power was too much for them.
The hard-earned second successive win for PSG. Goals from MNM but in the first half in particular, PSG really struggled to get a foothold in the game. While that was to Haifa’s credit, there were too many individual mistakes from the French champions.
Mbappe became PSG’s joint leading Champions League goalscorer as the French title holders avoided a shock. Tjaronn Chery’s superb volley put the home side ahead after 24 minutes to delight a packed Sammy Ofer Stadium. But Mbappe’s pace helped set up Lionel Messi for an equaliser and the roles were reversed in the second half when Mbappe scored his 30th Champions League goal for the club, drawing level with Edinson Cavani. Neymar sealed it late on.
Messi is the first player in history to score in 18 consecutive UEFA Champions League seasons,moving ahead of Karim Benzema (17).
Messi has scored against teams from 19 different nations in the Champions League.
Messi has now scored against 39 different teams in UEFA Champions League competition
Paris’ Kylian Mbappé has been named as the Player of the Match. The UEFA Technical Obersver panel said: “Mbappé is a constant threat by waiting for the moments he can be effective. With his superb acceleration capacities, he can open any defence. As well as being extremely fast, he also chooses the right moment and the skills to execute his thoughts.”
PSG forward Kylian Mbappe said ,“The conditions were a little difficult, it was very hot, but it’s the Champions League. We came here to win and reinforce our hold on top spot, and we did that. We started quite well, we played with intensity, but then we dropped our tempo a bit and conceded a goal. We reacted well, imposed our style of play, and made the difference, scoring the second and capping it off with the third.”
PSG coach Christophe Galtier said ,”We had two or three big situations in the first half, they did too, and they pushed hard in a really good atmosphere. We weren’t well organised, quickly split in two, and that made the first half difficult. We needed to put things right, and after the break we were much more compact. Your opponents are always of great quality in the Champions League. We needed to react after a more-than-average first half, notably tactically.”
Bengali