In Lionel Messi’s first meeting with Real Madrid wearing a shirt other than Barcelona’s, the PSG ace missed a penalty, but managed to leave the field celebrating a victory. It was up to Frenchman Mbappé, in stoppage time, to score a great goal in an individual move to set the score 1-0, in Paris, in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
With the result, the French team will have the advantage of playing for a draw in the return match, on March 9, at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. In case of a victory by the hosts by the minimum difference, the decision of the vacancy will extend to extra time, since there is no longer the criterion of the away goal as a tiebreaker.
For the match in Madrid, the Spanish team will have important absences. The Brazilian midfielder Casemiro and the French left side Mendy will not be able to play, as they accumulated the third yellow card this Tuesday.
PSG, on the other hand, should have an important reinforcement among the holders. Recovered from injury, Neymar returned to the field this Tuesday. He came on in the second half, minutes after Messi missed the penalty. With good movement and asking for the ball, he showed that he no longer suffered from the problem in his left ankle.
Even without the Brazilian on the field, the Parisian team had wide dominance in the first half, with 60% of ball possession. The problem was that he couldn’t convert that into many clear chances, although he had six submissions against just one of the opponent, without much danger.
Real, by the way, had difficulty crossing the midfield line. Even defender Militão was forced to try to help the team come out from behind. He just couldn’t do it more often because Mbappé and Messi mainly exploited the left side of the attack.
The scenario was not much different in the final stage, with PSG smothering Real Madrid in the defense field, while the Spaniards took little danger of the French goal.
Even in the struggle, the visiting team looked like they would be able to hold the tie, especially when the Argentine Messi missed a penalty in the 16th minute, when Courtois defended the ace’s charge.
In stoppage time, however, Mbappé finally managed to break through the Madrid barrier and scored against the team he will play for next season.
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