Paris at the rendezvous. But it wasn’t easy or brilliant, at least not for a while. First put under pressure, for almost an hour, Luis Enrique’s players finally got the better of Real Sociedad (2-0) on Wednesday, at the Parc des Princes, in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League. And this thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé and Bradley Barcola in the second half. A PSG with two faces in this part. We will have to finish the work on March 5, in Anoeta, during the return match.
From the kick-off, Real were true to their reputation, intense to the point of excess, a lot of effort and a few mistakes too. The first strike, distant and hopeless, was Basque (1st), but the first opportunity was Parisian, with a recovery from Vitinha in the central circle, Dembélé to put Mbappé into orbit… who lost his duel with Remiro (6th). The Parc public saw few chances at the start of the match. The Basque pressure caused multiple Parisian technical errors. Stuffy. And Donnarumma was trembling a little too, there with Kubo in the small outside net (18th), here with this header from Silva right next to it (20th). If they had difficulty getting out of the press, breathing, quite simply developing their football, the Rouge et Bleu put their noses back at the window on set pieces (33rd, 34th, 37th), but that is clearly the Real by Imanol Alguacil who led in points at the break (0-0 MT). And she was not far from leading, Merino hitting the bar (45th). Alert !
Parisian revolt upon resumption? Not really. Luis Enrique swapped the positions of Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz and we left with the same appearance, with Basque mastery and PSG players unable to accelerate, put their foot on the ball and even less approach the opposing cage. Always this waste in the transmissions which prevented any form of control. This did not prevent Mbappé from striking. Corner from “Dembouz”, deflection from Marquinhos and “KM” all alone at the far post to find the fault (1-0, 58th). Deliverance. Muted until then, the Park was finally ablaze. And the Paris-SG was unlocked, finally too. Change of scenery. The magic of Kylian Mbappé.
And the former Monegasque was close to doing the double with this mine from outside the area which hit the top of the bar (62nd). From now on, it was Paris who had the upper hand and Real, who suffered to get past the first curtain. Mbappé continued to push (70th), Hakimi no longer lost the ball (27 in total), Zaire-Emery responded in the duels (3/10)… and Barcola took off: double acceleration from the former Lyonnais before adjust Remiro (2-0, 70th). It was no longer the same match and Real suffered. Entering the game, Asensio (85th) and Kolo Muani (88th) tried to increase the score and allow Paris to travel to San Sebastian more peacefully. It ultimately didn’t happen (2-0, final score). 2-0, it’s not a high price for the Basques considering the last half hour, but we wouldn’t have bet on such a result in favor of Paris Saint-Germain at half-time or at the start of the game. second half.
After 45 minutes of suffering, and a no more brilliant start to the second half, PSG obviously relied on Kylian Mbappé. Who else ? Author of three goals in the group stage, the captain of the Blues (again) broke the deadlock shortly before the hour mark, a fox goal, hanging at the far post from a corner. Not his business, but the result is the same. 31st in 30 matches since the start of the season for the Parisian number 7, more essential than ever, regularly present in major meetings and decisive Champions League matches. Note the exceptional goal from Barcola, who is no longer a “lamb”, and the (very) consistent game from Dembélé. Fire trio.