Club Brugge succeeded in stopping Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. In-house, the team of coach Philippe Clement held its own by drawing 1-1. Lionel Messi made his starting debut and hit the crossbar but failed to score. The other Group A match was between Manchester City and RB Leipzig, finishing 6-3.
Trainer Mauricio Pochettino opted for a three-man vanguard with Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. With that, the 34-year-old Argentinian made his basic debut in the shirt of the Parisians. Behind that, Georginio Wijnaldum could also count on a basic place. At Club Brugge, Noa Lang was the only Dutchman to kick off, while Ruud Vormer and Bas Dost had to settle for a place on the bench.
Front assist Noa Lang ?? assist Edward Sobol ?? Hans Vanaken? No walk in the park for PSG tonight??#ZiggoSport #UCL #BRUPAR pic.twitter.com/8F88TLkB5a
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 15, 2021
The Parisian star ensemble already took a 0-1 lead after fifteen minutes of play. Kylian Mbappé simply dribbled past Clinton Mata and served Ander Herrera, who shot the ball diagonally: 0-1. It therefore seemed to be a painful evening for Club Brugge, especially when Simon Mignolet narrowly prevented the 0-2 eight minutes later. However, the Belgians showed their fighting spirit and found the equalizer in the 27th minute. After a nice play by Lang, Eduard Sobol came into possession on the left side of the field, and he put the ball back to Hans Vanaken. The captain shot through the shin of Presnel Kimpembe: 1-1.
Just before the end of the first half, Messi had the chance to score his debut goal on behalf of PSG. From the edge of the box, he cleared for a free kick and knocked Mignolet, but the bar was in the way of a goal. Subsequently, Club Brugge regularly came out dangerous and the Lang-De Ketelaere tandem, among others, caused a lot of danger. However, the lead was not found. In the second company, Messi got into scoring position shortly after Mbappé had left the field injured. The Argentinian lashed out, but ran into Mignolet’s fists. In the final phase, PSG increased the pressure considerably; however, the winning goal was no longer found.