Kylian Mbappe grabbed the first goal and Bradley Barcola added the second as Paris Saint-Germain beat Real Sociedad 2-0 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
Sociedad dominated the game for long spells despite missing key players through injury, until Mbappe’s goal in the 58th minute.
The breakthrough came when Marquinhos headed on Ousmane Dembele’s corner from the right and Mbappe was unmarked at the back post to volley in. A few minutes later, his strike from the edge of the penalty area was tipped on to the crossbar by goalkeeper Alex Remiro.
But Remiro was beaten again in the 70th minute when the speedy Barcola broke down the left, skipped past right-back Hamari Traore with ease and poked the ball in – prompting coach Luis Enrique to jump off the bench to celebrate.
There was relief, too, that Mbappe lasted the whole game after his sore left ankle kept him on the bench for Saturday’s Ligue 1 game, but he showed no ill effects when he latched on to Dembele’s pass and forced a save in the sixth minute.
After that chance, however, PSG’s intensity dropped right off.
Even though Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil was without goalscoring midfielder Mikel Oyarzabal and left-back Kieran Tierney, the intensity and organisation of Sociedad’s high pressing pushed PSG back at a subdued Parc des Princes.
Andre Silva glanced a header wide and captain Mikel Merino struck the crossbar with a superb dipping shot from 25 yards out moments before the break.
Mbappe’s goal took pressure off his team-mates and allowed the 21-year-old Barcola – a summer signing from Lyon – more freedom to attack.
Shot-shy Sociedad – Opta stats
- This was just the second time on record (since 2003-04) that Paris Saint-Germain haven’t faced a single shot on target in a UEFA Champions League knockout stage game, with the other instance coming against another Spanish side in Real Madrid in February 2022 (also in the round of 16).
- Real Sociedad conceded as many goals tonight as they did in the entire group stage of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League (two in six games), while this was their first defeat in European competition since March 2023 (0-2 v Roma), ending a seven-match unbeaten run.
- Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has never lost a home match in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League (W7 D1) – following tonight’s victory, the Spaniard is now level with Fabio Capello for the most home games overseen in the knockout stages of the competition without ever losing (8).
- Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé became the first player to score in 10 consecutive home starts in the UEFA Champions League, with the Frenchman netting 13 goals in total across those 10 starts.
- Kylian Mbappé has been directly involved in 38 goals in 30 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain this season (31 goals, seven assists); the most of any player in Europe’s big five leagues across all competitions.
- Real Sociedad won possession in the final third on 13 occasions in this match – the most by a team away to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on record (since 2007-08).
- Real Sociedad had eight different Spanish players in their starting XI against Paris Saint-Germain; the most in a team for a UEFA Champions League knockout stage game since March 2014 (eight for Real Madrid, versus FC Schalke 04).
- Paris Saint-Germain had three players aged 21 or younger (Barcola, Zaire-Emery & Beraldo) in their starting XI for a UEFA Champions League game for the first time since March 2014 vs Bayer Leverkusen (Digne, Rabiot and Marquinhos), with Marquinhos also starting tonight – his 80th game in the competition since then.
What’s next?
The return leg will be played at the Reale Seguros Stadium on March 5, kicking off at 8pm.
Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!
