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3:21
PSG beat Real Madrid in the final
This Tuesday the clashes of the first leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League were held, two in total and at the same time (4:00 pm Venezuela time). The Parc des Princes hosted the match between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, where the locals won with a solitary goal from Mbappé in the last minute.
It was an attractive duel, one of the most anticipated of the round of 16. In addition, with some surprises in the starting elevens of both squads. Benzema and Mendy were headlines as they were already recovered from their injuries. The Argentine Di María also started from the beginning, having also been injured a few weeks ago.
It should be noted that PSG dominated the game from start to finish in all aspects. He cut the white initiatives, the 'merengues' could not give two or three passes in a row. They had ball possession of around 70%, 23 shots into the area defended by Courtois, while the Whites only managed 3 shots and none under the three posts of Donnarumma's goal.
On the other hand, when trying to cut the attacks of Mbappé, Di María and Messi ; Casemiro and Mendy were exposed to being booked and for this reason, Ancelotti will not have them in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The match began with that overwhelming game by the Parisian team that put the whites against the wall. The first half, almost entirely, was Pochettino's team. However, the clearest so far was at minute 49, when a great team game was played between Messi and Mbappé, and the Frenchman took a cross shot that Courtois would take.
At 60', Mbappé entered the white area on the left wing, cut in, but Dani Carvajal knocked him down, the Frenchman fell and the referee awarded a penalty in favor of PSG. Messi charged, but Courtois stopped and the goalless tie would continue to drag on.
At 72' the coaches would move the bench. Rodrygo and Lucas Vázquez entered for Asensio and Carvajal. Then, in the last minutes Hazard and Bale would enter for Vinicius and Benzema. Neymar came on behalf of PSG, replacing Di María. The Brazilian was injured on November 28 last year in the match against Saint-Étienne and since then he had not played.
However, at 90 + 4 'Mbappé receives a backheel pass from Neymar in the left part of the area, manages to outwit Lucas and Militao and defines under the Belgian's legs to get the final 1-0. The return will be at the Santiago Bernabéu on March 9.
Manchester City thrashed Sporting at home
In parallel, the match between Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City took place. The chosen stage was the José Alvalade Stadium where the visitors crushed a Portuguese team that did not know how to react.
At minute 7 the scoring would open, after a play that Mahrez would score, but it was momentarily invalidated for offside, but the referee reviewed the VAR and confirmed the goal. The second was at 17' with a great volley shot by Bernardo Silva. 0-2.
Mahrez was once again the protagonist on the right flank and crossed low for Foden to convert at 32'. The fourth goal was at minute 44, it came in a play by Sterling that reached the last line and passed it back so that Bernardo Silva finished off and took advantage of a deflection by the defender to make it 0-4.
Sterling, already in the second half, at minute 58, would close the match with 0-5. The return will take place at the Etihad on March 9, but Guardiola's men already feel they are in the next round of the Champions League.
