Champions League round of 16: PSG beat Real Socieded 2-0
Kylian Mbappe scored the opening goal and Bradley Barcola the second as PSG defeated Real Sociedad 2-0 in their first-leg Champions League matchup at the Parc des Princes. The second leg will take place at the Reale Seguros Stadium on March 5.
In the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Real Sociedad 2-0 thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola.
Up to Mbappe’s goal in the 58th minute, Sociedad controlled the game for extended periods of time despite losing important players due to injuries.
The game-winning goal was scored after Marquinhos headed in an Ousmane Dembele corner from the right, leaving Mbappe unmarked to volley in from the back post. A few minutes later, goalie Alex Remiro deflected his effort from the edge of the penalty area onto the crossbar.
However, in the 70th minute, Barcola’s lightning-fast break down the left, easy slide past right-back Hamari Traore, and poked the ball in gave Remiro his second defeat, causing coach Luis Enrique to leap off the bench in celebration.
The fact that Mbappe played the entire match was also a comfort, considering he had been sidelined for Saturday’s Ligue 1 match due to a sore left ankle. However, he appeared unaffected when he grabbed Dembele’s pass and forced a save in the sixth minute. Nevertheless, PSG’s intensity abruptly decreased after that opportunity.
Coach Imanol Alguacil of Sociedad was without left-back Kieran Tierney and goalscoring midfielder Mikel Oyarzabal, but the team’s high pressing pressure was organized and intense enough to force PSG back at a quiet Parc des Princes.
Just before halftime, Mikel Merino, the captain, hit the crossbar with an incredible dipping effort from 25 yards out after Andre Silva had glancingly missed with a header. With his goal, Mbappe relieved pressure on his teammates, giving summer signing Barcola, 21, greater leeway to attack. Barcola is a summer acquisition from Lyon.
Some interesting facts after the match
- This was only the second time in history (since 2003–04) that Paris Saint-Germain has not allowed a single shot on goal in a UEFA Champions League knockout stage match; the other occurrence was in February 2022 (also in the round of 16) against Real Madrid, another Spanish team.
- Real Sociedad’s seven-game winning streak came to an end tonight as they allowed as many goals as they did during the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League group stage (two in six games). Additionally, this was their first European defeat since March 2023 (0–2 vs. Roma).
- After tonight’s victory, Luis Enrique, the manager of Paris Saint-Germain, is now tied with Fabio Capello for the most home games overseen in the competition’s knockout stages without ever losing (8). Enrique has never lost a home match in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League (W7 D1).
- Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain made history by becoming the first player to score in ten straight home starts in the UEFA Champions League. During those ten starts, the Frenchman netted 13 goals overall.
- Kylian Mbappé has contributed directly to 38 goals in 30 Paris Saint-Germain games this season (31 goals, 7 assists); this is more than any other player in all competitions across Europe’s top five leagues.
- In this encounter, Real Sociedad took the lead 13 times in the last third of the game, which is a record for most team away from Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League (since 2007-08).
- Eight different Spanish players started for Real Sociedad against Paris Saint-Germain, making it the most Spanish players in a starting lineup for a UEFA Champions League knockout stage match since eight for Real Madrid against FC Schalke 04 in March 2014.
- For the first time since March 2014 against Bayer Leverkusen (Digne, Rabiot, and Marquinhos), Paris Saint-Germain started three players, Barcola, Zaire-Emery, and Beraldo, who are all 21 years of age or younger, in the starting lineup for a UEFA Champions League match. Marquinhos is starting tonight in his 80th game in the competition.
