Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Manchester City: Messi off the mark as PSG get revenge

Messi’s
start
to
life
at
PSG
had
been
somewhat
muted
but
he
came
to
life
late
in
the
day
to
seal
a
hard-fought
victory
at
the
Parc
des
Princes,
an
important
result
after
a
disappointing
draw
with
Club
Brugge
on
matchday
one.

PSG
made
a
wonderful
start
and
were
quickly
in
front
thanks
to
Idrissa
Gueye,
but
City
had
opportunities
to
pull
level,
with
Raheem
Sterling
and
Bernardo
Silva
both
hitting
the
crossbar
in
quick
succession.

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The
visitors
were
especially
dominant
in
the
second
period,
but
they
struggled
to
craft
clear-cut
chances
as
PSG
picked
them
off
on
the
break,
Messi
netting
against
his
former
boss
Pep
Guardiola
in
the
Champions
League
for
a
record-extending
seventh
time.

Gueye
may
not
be
renowned
for
his
goalscoring
prowess
but
his
eighth-minute
finish
was
his
fourth
in
six
this
season
and
a
strike
of
great
precision,
smashing
into
the
top-right
corner
when
Neymar
could
not
control
Kylian
Mbappe’s
cut-back.

The
same
quality
was
not
exhibited
at
the
other
end,
though,
as
Sterling
saw
his
header
come
back
off
the
bar
and
Silva
inexplicably
hit
it
as
well
on
the
rebound.

Kevin
De
Bruyne
escaped
a
red
card
for
catching
Gueye
late
in
the
half
and
he
almost
set
up
the
equaliser
soon
after,
his
corner
finding
Ruben
Dias,
whose
header
tested
Gianluigi
Donnarumma.

PSG’s
solid
defensive
work
ensured
big
chances
were
otherwise
a
rare
commodity
for
City,
and
Messi
put
the
game
beyond
them
16
minutes
from
time.

He
surged
in
from
the
right,
played
a
one-two
with
Mbappe
on
the
edge
of
the
box
and
then
caressed
a
first-time
finish
into
the
top-right
corner.