Paris (AP) – Kylian Mbappé shot Paris Saint-Germain on course for the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a last-minute goal.
The exceptional striker courted by Real Madrid hurt the royals late and scored the winning goal in the fourth minute of added time to make it 1-0 (0-0) in the first leg of the round of 16. The multiple world footballer Lionel Messi had previously missed the best chance for the superior French, in the 62nd minute the Argentine failed with a penalty kick on the strong Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Manchester City, on the other hand, can almost certainly plan for the quarter-finals of the premier class. At Sporting Lisbon, the English experienced an extremely relaxed evening and easily prevailed 5-0 (4-0). Riyad Mahrez (7th minute), Bernardo Silva (17th/44th), Phil Foden (32nd) and Raheem Sterling (58th) scored the goals for coach Pep Guardiola’s team. National player Ilkay Gündogan came on as a substitute in the second round.
Real Madrid almost had a satisfying evening too – until Mbappé struck. In the final seconds of the game, the 23-year-old dribbled through Real Madrid’s defense and shot the ball through the legs of strong Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. For most of the season, the ball had been moving in one direction for the most part: towards the Spaniards’ goal. PSG possessed the ball for long stretches, but initially failed to overcome the royal defense around Courtois. Even the multiple world footballer Messi showed nerves in the Prinzenpark and missed a penalty.
In the 62nd minute, Courtois saved the Argentine’s penalty shot down the right, and Mbappé was initially unable to force the win either. The Belgian also parried his powerful shot (49th), but shortly before the end Courtois was powerless.
City, on the other hand, didn’t have to make any great effort against defensively desolate Portuguese. The Portuguese defense was hopelessly overwhelmed with the fast star troop. The two second legs will take place on March 9th.