PSG 1-0 Real Madrid: Mbappe slots late winner after Messi penalty miss
Kylian Mbappe scored a 94th-minute winner to give PSG a vital 1-0 lead at the halfway stage of their Champions League last-16 tie with Real Madrid.
It had looked as if Thibaut Courtois would be Madrid’s hero, the Belgian saving a Lionel Messi penalty midway through the second-half having already thwarted Mbappe on several occasions.
However, Mbappe – who is the subject of major speculation linking him with a free transfer to Madrid at the end of the season – came up trumps with a superb solo effort to give Mauricio Pochettino’s side a slim advantage to take to the Bernabeu in three weeks’ time.
Both sides received fitness boosts ahead of kick-off, with Karim Benzema fit to lead the Madrid line, while Neymar was back on the PSG bench having been out since suffering an ankle injury in November.
Mbappe took the game to Madrid from the outset, teeing up Angel Di Maria for an early chance, which the Argentine blazed over, before latching onto a Messi ball in behind to force Courtois into his first meaningful save.
Courtois came to Madrid’s rescue again moments after the restart as Mbappe lashed goalwards at the end of a flowing PSG move, before Dani Carvajal’s desperate tackle on the Frenchman handed Messi the chance to open the scoring from the spot, only for Real’s keeper to prevail again.
Finally, however, the deadlock was broken with a piece of magic deep into stoppage time as Mbappe weaved between two players and slotted through the legs of Courtois to send Parc des Princes wild.
