Paris, October 20 (BNA): Paris Saint-Germain players Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi found their weight as they inspired their side with a 3-2 home win against RB Leipzig in an exciting Champions League match on Tuesday.
Mbappe was the first to score, and Messi thanked the France striker for the second-half brace after the Ligue 1 side trailed 2-1 after Andre Silva and Nordy Mukele goals on either side of the half, Reuters reported.
Mbappe, who missed a penalty in stoppage time, set Messi up for the equalizer and won the penalty kick, which the Argentine turned with an ice chip after a lackluster performance from the new club’s signature.
The result left PSG top of Group A with seven points from three matches, one point ahead of Manchester City, who beat Club Brugge 5-1 away earlier on Tuesday. Leipzig has no points.
“They pushed hard and targeted Marco Verratti,” said Paris St Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino, who had to deal with the absence of injured Neymar and suspended Angel Di Maria.
“It was a very difficult match but the team showed its character again.”
Leipzig coach Jesse Marsh added: “There is a big difference between us and PSG, but the fact that we almost made it says a lot. We need to trust this young team.”
Before Mbappe and Messi bonded like old teammates, PSG often seemed unable to handle a high-pressure Leipzig match.
Jesse Marsh’s team pressed hard from the start and after eight minutes, Keylor Navas from Paris Saint-Germain saved three saves.
It was a double-edged sword for the visitors, as he threatened PSG in the second half and opened the scoring nine minutes later.
Julian Draxler fed a long pass from Marquinhos into Mbappe’s path, who mistook his mark before firing low past Peter Gulassi to score his first Champions League goal of the season.
Leipzig did not retreat and in the 27th minute Silva’s ball crashed against Navas’ left post. A minute later, Silva converted Angelino’s cross into the far corner to give the German side a deserved equalizer.
Leipzig were the better team and Christopher Nkunku came close to giving them the advantage three minutes before halftime when his low shot went wide after a series of dribbles.
Paris Saint-Germain started the second half well, as Messi found a space between the two lines, but it was Leipzig who took the lead in the 57th minute as Mokelly hit another Angelino pass at the far post.
The hosts continued to suffer, but Mbappe intercepted a pass from Tyler Adams, rushed into the area and fed Messi, and the Argentine hit the ball into the empty net after Gulassi parried his shot into the post after 67 minutes.
It was Mbappe who created Messi for Paris Saint-Germain’s second goal in their 2-0 win over Manchester City in the previous round of matches.
Seven minutes later, Mbappe was brought down by Muhammed Simakan and Messi hit the resulting penalty in a clinical manner before pointing back at his attacking partner, who has made his three goals at PSG so far.
PSG were awarded another penalty four minutes into extra time after a VAR review of Josco Gvardiol’s foul on Achraf Hakimi but Mbappe crossed the crossbar although that did not spoil the 22-year-old’s impressive overall performance.