PSG 4-1 Club Brugge: 5 talking points as Mbappe and Messi net braces in routine win | UEFA Champions League 2021-22
PSG recorded a routine win over Club Brugge, concluding their 2021-22 UEFA Champions League group-stage campaign with a 4-1 win. Kylian Mbappe scored twice in the first seven minutes, while Lionel Messi also bagged a brace.
The visitors' second-half surge saw them enjoy a strong period, culminating with a Mats Rits strike in the 68th minute. However, PSG restored their three-goal lead when Messi scored his second of the night with a 76th-minute penalty.
🔴🔵 Leo Messi at the Parc des Princes for Paris:
🆚 Man. City ⚽️
🆚 Leipzig ⚽️⚽️
🆚 Club Brugge ⚽️
#UCL https://t.co/lYCo4WIU6y
With group winners Manchester City (12) losing at Leipzig, PSG (11) will go into the knockouts on a winning note. On that note, here's a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Mbappe and Messi continue to show great promise together
After a quickfire brace, Mbappe turned provider in the 39th minute, setting up Messi, whose sweetly struck left-footed strike made it 3-0 for PSG.
Mbappe has now been the provider for three of Messi's six goals across competitions this season. Two of Messi's three other goals have come from the penalty spot.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner's pace allows him to skip past defenders on the flanks with ease, which he did a lot against Brugge. Messi, meanwhile, likes to sit a bit deeper nowadays. However, his movement around the box allows him to get into good scoring positions.
06:23 - After just six minutes and 23 seconds, Kylian Mbappé has scored the second-fastest brace by a player from the start of a UEFA Champions League match, behind only Rodrygo for Real Madrid against Galatasary in November 2019 (06:13). Lightning. #PSGCLU https://t.co/EAYbcIWcGI
For Messi's first goal of the game, Mbappe sprinted across Jack Hendry before cutting a pass to the Argentine, who was in a good position outside the box. The duo's qualities complement each other. The Ligue 1 giants have not lost a game in which both players have scored.
#4 Clean sheet becoming a rarity for PSG
PSG conceded an avoidable goal against Club Brugge. The defenders and midfielders shut off, allowing Noa Lang, the best Brugge player on the pitch, make a marauding run virtually unopposed into the box.
Mats Rits had also made a smart run, keeping himself on the right-hand side of the box. Lang teed him the unmarked player with a pass, who shaped himself perfectly to find the far corner.
The goal meant PSG have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine games across competitions. That is something manager Mauricio Pochettino needs to ponder about.