Kylian Mbappe scored a brace as Paris Saint-Germain kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Juventus at the Parc des Princes.<\/p>\n
Among the favorites again as they seek to finally get their hands on European football\u2019s premier club crown, PSG were heavy favorites in their opener and Christophe Gaultier\u2019s side were quick off the blocks in getting off to the perfect start, with fleet-footed Mbappe opening the scoring after just five minutes, drilling home after exchanging exquisite passes with Neymar, whose wonderfully-delicate pass dissected the Juve defence.<\/p>\n
The brilliant, intuitive teamwork between the duo was the ideal response from the odd couple to Mbappe\u2019s revelation that the pair are ensconced in a relationship that the Frenchman declared runs hot and cold, causing widespread headlines in the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Then, in the 22nd minute, Les Parisiens\u2019 doubled their advantage as the Parisiens were just too quick, too slick, too sharp as they effortlessly found space between Juve\u2019s defensive line and midfield. Intuitive precision work from Marco Verratti, Mbappe and Lionel Messi sent a pass to Achraf Hakimi who had raced in down the right, and he subsequently picked out Mbappe who slammed home his second of the night. It was sheer poetry in motion, no less.<\/p>\n
Up till then Gaultier\u2019s men were threatening to blow the Bianconeri to smithereens, with Neymar in dazzling form while the majority of the game was being conducted in the visitors\u2019 half of the pitch. However, instead of pressing pedal to the metal, they somehow lost momentum and eased off on the throttle.<\/p>\n
It could easily have been 3-0 early in the second half, when Mbappe had Neymar totally available for an easy tap but he opted instead to blaze the ball wide from an acute angle. One suspects this won\u2019t have helped much to dampen the scrutiny that’s been hanging over their relationship, and the displeased Brazilian’s reaction said as much. It was obvious Mbappe was barely able to bring himself\u00a0 to look at his teammate in the immediate aftermath, knowing fully well he had made an awkward blunder.<\/p>\n
Soon after that, Juve found themselves back in the game when Gianluigi Donnarumma was somehow lost his composure during a corner kick and Weston McKennie soared highest to head home. Max Allegri\u2019s gallant men pushed on but the equaliser never came.<\/p>\n
In the end however, Gaultier\u2019s men trotted off with the victory and the three points in Group H.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"