Phenomenal Mbappe takes Paris Saint-Germain by the hand against Juventus


Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at 10:51 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 23:07

Paris Saint-Germain started the new Champions League season with a difficult victory on Tuesday evening. The team of coach Christophe Galtier whirled over Juventus in the first half and eventually triumphed 2-1. Kylian Mbappe scored two beautiful goals before half time. Substitute Weston McKennie did something back on behalf of the visitors after the break, but Juventus didn’t get any further than that. The other game in Group H, between Roger Schmidt’s Benfica and Maccabi Haifa, ended in favor of the Portuguese: 2-0.

Paris Saint Germain – Juventus 2-1
Danilo had to make way for the home team after two 90 minutes in Ligue 1. The Portuguese saw the midfield formed by Achraf Hakimi, Marco Verratti, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes. Up front, Galtier started with his dream attackers: Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. It didn’t take long for the French superpower to open the ball. After just five minutes, Mattia Perin, who replaced the injured Wojciech Szczesny, was able to fish. After a brilliant lob over Neymar’s defense, Mbappé suddenly finished: 1-0.

PSG flashed in the first half, showing Juventus every corner of the field at times. After fifteen minutes, the recipe for the first goal was repeated by Messi and Mbappé, but this time the ball did not end up at the feet of the French star player. Juventus did something back halfway through the first half via Arkadiusz Milik. The Pole got a free header after a measured cross from Juan Cuadrado, but found Gianluigi Donnarumma in his way. Not much later, Mbappé signed for his second of the evening. Once again, it was preceded by a magnificent attack. On a pass from Hakimi, Mbappé was able to finish: 2-0.

For the Frenchman it was already his 34th goal in the Champions League. Mbappe has now been involved in 54 goals in 54 games in the billion-dollar league (34 goals, 20 assists). In the early stages of the second half, PSG had the best chances (Neymar’s shot caught and Mbappe’s shot into the side net), but it was Juventus who scored the connecting goal. On a pass from Filip Kostic, McKennie, who had come in just before, nodded well: 2-1. The entertainment value was significantly lower in the second half than in the first half. A header from Dusan Vlahovic was cleverly caught by Donnarumma. Carlos Soler was awarded his debut five minutes before the end. He came in for Messi.

Benfica – Maccabi Haifa 2-0
Schmidt has so far got off to a flying start as Benfica’s trainer. The German did not lose a point, but did not have an easy time with the team from Israel in the Champions League overture. The game’s first danger came after half an hour of play, when Rafa Silva found goalkeeper Josh Cohen in his way with a shot from the edge of the box. The visitors held their ground in the first act, but had to bow after the break. This time Silva was accurate. On a signal from Alejandro Grimaldo, the midfielder tapped in nicely. Four minutes later Grimaldo itself was the final station. The Spaniard decided to play from more than twenty meters and saw his effort sail into the crossing in a brilliant way: 2-0.