Paris Saint-Germain outplayed the most successful club in the world in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg match on Tuesday night but still had to rely on an injury-time moment of magic from Kylian Mbappe to grab a slender advantage to take into the return game. It looked like it was going to be a thoroughly frustrating night for the hosts after they’d missed a string of good chances – including the best of all. Lionel Messi wasted a penalty kick!MBAPPE WITH AN AMAZING LAST MINUTE GOAL TO MAKE IT 1-0 FOR PSG pic.twitter.com/GAzCKi3Whg— Ziad is back in pain (@Ziad_EJ) February 15, 2022 It was a deserved win for the Parisians, who were battering Real Madrid from start to finish. It would have been unjust to see a gutless Los Blancos team leave the field undefeated.Looking at teams’ names, this should have been the most entertaining match of the night. But it seems that only the French team got onto the Parc des Princes pitch with a desire to play and score goals. The visitors were happy to sit back and try to do the business when these teams meet again at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.What a save from Courtois#PSGRMA pic.twitter.com/VXQ0oitcBy— Emad (@FCB__Emad) February 15, 2022 It’s been three years since PSG and Real Madrid met in this stage of the Champions League. In 20119, the Spanish club won both home and away and scored a 5-2 aggregate win. This time around, we were expecting a much tighter double-header.The Parisians started the match brightly and had a great chance early on when Mbappe created some space past Dani Carvajal and crossed low for Angel Di Maria who blasted over the bar.What a save from Courtois#PSGRMA pic.twitter.com/VXQ0oitcBy— Emad (@FCB__Emad) February 15, 2022 The visitors were looking shell-shocked in the opening stages but the Ligue 1 leaders failed to capitalize on it. Leo Messi dinked a ball forward into the path of Mbappe, who left Carvajal for dead again but fired straight at Thibaut Courtois.It was strange watching the players wearing all white defending deep in their own half and soaking up the pressure. For a long time, they looked inferior against Mauricio Pochettino’s side at Parc des Princes. It was only in the ten or so minutes leading up to the half-time break that Los Blancos managed to venture into the opposing half – but that was all they could do.It continued in a similar manner after the restart. Again, it was Mbappe who was presented with a good chance. He turned and shot from the centre of the area, but Courtois dropped down to his right and made another crucial stop.Messi has got no less than 26 goals against the Madrid club over the course of his career and he’s had the best chance to increase that tally after Carvajal fouled Mbappe in the box on the hour mark. However, the Argentine’s penalty wasn’t good enough, giving the former Chelsea goalkeeper another chance to shine. Courtois thwarted the latest Ballon D’Or winner!David Alaba tackles Neymar (©AFP)Paris sent the freshly recovered Neymar on in the search of a deserved goal. It was a welcome sight to see the Brazilian back in action for the first time since late November, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side kept holding on and only rarely attempting to mount any sort of meaningful attack.The home team have left it late, but it was worth it. The move started with a lovely Neymar backheel and ended up with a strong low finish from Mbappe that went under the advancing Courtois and into the net to the delight of the noisy crowd in Paris.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUERound of 16TuesdaySporting – Manchester City 0-5 (0-4)/Mahrez 7, Silva 17, 44, Foden 32, Sterling 58/PSG – Real Madrid 1-0 (0-0)/Mbappe 90+4/Wednesday23:00: (8.00) Salzburg (5.30) Bayern (1.40)23:00: (3.35) Inter (3.50) Liverpool (2.25)February 22nd23:00: (1.37) Chelsea (4.80) Lille (8.50)23:00: (2.70) Villareal (3.10) Juventus (2.75)February 23rd23:00: (3.50) Benfica (3.45) Ajax (2.10)23:00: (2.55) Atl.Madrid (3.15) Man.Utd. (2.85)***odds are subject to change
