Kylian Mbappe’s 94th-minute goal helped Paris Saint Germain overcome Real Madrid in their first leg Champions League RO16 clash, despite Thibaut Courtois saving Lionel Messi’s penalty earlier on.
Mbappe drew a fine stop from Courtois on either side of the break; the youngster had looked the most obvious source of PSG’s goals all night. However, things could’ve turned out differently had Messi scored from the spot in the 62nd minute.
A minute earlier, Mbappe had drawn a foul from Dani Carvajal inside the box, presenting Messi with the chance to put the Parisians ahead. However, Courtois had other ideas, and a low dive to his left allowed him to get his hand to a weakly-struck kick, which he was able to turn around the post.
Nonetheless, Courtois was beaten in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage-time. The Belgian did his best to deny Mbappe from scoring after the Frenchman had burst through Real Madrid bodies and opened his own to shoot but could only watch in agony as the ball nestled into the corner of the net.
Elsewhere, Manchester City raced into a four-nil lead by half-time of their Champions League round of 16 first leg game against Sporting.
Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Bernardo Silva volleyed the second in off the bar from a corner. Phil Foden turned Mahrez’s cross in for the third in the 32nd minute, and a minute from the interval, Silva scored his second via a deflected shot from inside the box.
Silva thought he had completed his hattrick when, four minutes after the restart, he managed to squeeze a header past Antonio Adan – only for VAR to rule him offside. Raheem Sterling did score a fifth for Manchester City in the 58th minute, curling in a superb shot past Adan from outside the box – the pick of the goals on the night.
