Back at the Parc des Princes under the lights for another Champions League night, the latest instalment in our ‘Framed’ series took in Benfica’s visit to the French capital to face Mbappé, Neymar and co.
A lot of the talk in the build up to PSG’s latest Champions League match surrounded the future of one of the club’s star men, Kylian Mbappé and his apparent discontent with his current situation. But to focus on that latest drama to come out of the Ligue 1 outfit was to miss out on what was actually set to be a tough clash against Portuguese side, Benfica. Both teams came into the game unbeaten in all competitions so far this season, and both teams knew that a win would seal qualification to the knock out stages. However, no Portuguese side has ever won away at PSG in European competition. All to play for then.
But when the stakes are high and there’s an alternative route to take, more often than not that will be the way the football story will unfold, and so it was at the Parc des Princes.
With the absence of Lionel Messi, the team from Lisbon just had Neymar and Mbappé to worry about, but given the latter’s appearance in the headlines in the days preceding this match, it was inevitable that he would have a say in the result. And so it was that he slotted home cooly from the spot following a poorly timed challenge on Bernat by Silva to open the scoring. It was a goal that made him the club’s record scorer in the Champions League.
A poor challenge from Verratti on Rafa just inside the box was reviewed by VAR, and the penalty was subsequently awarded. João Mário stepped up to level the scoring. And that’s the way the game played out; Mbappé had the ball in the net again but was clearly offside, but that was about it.
A tale of two penalties. Both clear cut, both converted, and honours even. Both sides remain unbeaten in all competitions this season and both managers remain unbeaten in their new roles. On to the next.
Photography by Colin Duranton for SoccerBible.
