Ronay on Messi.
Messi has spoken.
Jamie Jackson’s player ratings.
... and that, my dear friends, on an historic night for Lionel Messi and PSG, is your lot. A reminder that David Hytner’s report is merely a click away. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Pep Guardiola gives BT Sport his verdict. “Good performance. We did everything but did not score. we defended well. They defended deep and the counter is always dangerous with the quality they have. We controlled them but unfortunately could not score. That is football. Nothing to say. Donnarumma made good saves. The team was there as it was in Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately they do not need much to score a goal and they did it. [Messi’s goal] was fantastic. We are going to drink a glass of wine, recover, and we are going to prepare for the game [at Liverpool] on Sunday.”
David Hytner was at the Parc des Princes. His report has landed ... and here it is!
PSG deserved the win. City didn’t play badly; indeed they had plenty of the ball, and carved out a fair few opportunities. But they never seriously troubled Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Raheem Sterling header / Bernardo Silva miss apart. Idrissa Gueye scored a belter, Lionel Messi opened his Parisian account with a finish that you’ll see a fair few times I’ll be bound ... and what an assist by Kylian Mbappe, come to that. PSG go top of Group A, ahead of Club Bruges, who won 2-1 in Leipzig tonight, on goal difference. City are third, a point behind PSG and Bruges, but there’s no need to panic yet.
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FULL TIME: PSG 2-0 Manchester City
The three points are PSG’s, the headlines are Messi’s.
90 min +4: Mahrez blazes this one over the bar.
90 min +3: Foden nearly gets on the end of a speculative right-wing cross, but Marquinhos clears. City come back at the hosts, Mahrez winning another free kick just to the right of the D, Wijnaldum the culprit this time.
90 min +2: The PSG faithful are in party mode. It’s been a memorable night for the 2020 runners-up.
90 min +1: In the first of four added minutes, Mahrez sends a swerving, dipping free kick towards the bottom left. Donnarumma parries clear.
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90 min: ... or will City get back into it just before time runs out? Gueye bowls Mahrez over, just to the right of the D. Free kick. Before it can be taken, Gueye is then hooked for Danilo.
88 min: Neymar dribbles into the City box from the left and flicks into the middle. He can’t find anyone, and Ederson claims. Three would be harsh on City, but PSG are threatening to get another.
87 min: A lot of space for Mbappe down the left. He’s got Messi in even more space in the middle. City are fortunate the hosts over-elaborate.
85 min: Jesus zips in from the left and enters the PSG box, before going to ground with Hakimi at his back. He wants a penalty, but he’s not getting one. There didn’t seem too much in it.
83 min: Messi is down, theatrically so, having run into Jesus, who didn’t do much wrong. The referee checks his watch.
82 min: Wiljnaldum has the opportunity to send Neymar clear down the left, but his long diagonal pass is too high for his team-mate. A sense that PSG want a third now, some payback for last year’s semi-final defeat.
81 min: That’s seven goals in five matches for Messi against Pep, by the way.
79 min: Silva finds some space down the left and whips a low cross all the way through the six-yard box. Mahrez takes a touch at the right-hand corner of the box, before bashing a low effort towards the near post. Donnarumma isn’t going to be beaten like that.
78 min: Verratti is booked for a late clank on Sterling. It’s the last showing of both men, as they’re immediately hooked for Wijnaldum and Jesus respectively.
76 min: That was such a lovely goal. Mbappe’s touch was just so, a perfectly feathered little backflick into the path of Messi, who spun almost imperceptibly and whipped his shot across the wrong-footed Ederson and into the top corner. Chances are you’ll see it a few times. What a way to open your account, even by Messi’s standards!
MESSIGOL! PSG 2-0 Manchester City (Messi 74)
Lionel Messi scores his first goal for PSG, and it’s an absolute stunner! He dribbles at great speed down the right wing, gliding infield, then slipping a ball down the channel for Mbappe, who flicks it back into the road of the new boy. Messi, on the edge of the D, pinball-flippers into the top right with his left boot, another unstoppable shot, then goes tearing off towards the stand, and all the love.
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72 min: Walker wins a corner off Mendes with a trademark warp-speed run. Marquinhos heads clear for the 600th time this evening. The PSG captain has been immense so far.
70 min: De Bruyne has a whack from distance. Nope.
69 min: Foden is quickly into the action. First he helps to clear his own lines with a cute spin and backheel to get away from Messi; then he fires a couple of crosses into the mixer from the left, causing a little worry in the PSG box. Kimpembe eventually clears.
68 min: Mahrez shovels elegantly down the inside-left channel to release Grealish into the box. Grealish dances around in the Ricky Villa style - sorry to remind City fans of the 1981 FA Cup final - but can’t work space for a shot or cross. Verratti slides and blocks ... and the flag finally goes up for offside. That’s Grealish’s last act of the evening; he’s replaced by Foden.
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66 min: Mahrez, out on the right, shifts infield and shoots. A bit of a scuff, it takes a deflection before rolling harmlessly into Donnarumma’s arms.
64 min: Sterling dribbles down the left and wins a corner off Herrera. Marquinhos clears and suddenly PSG are on the counter! Hakimi glides down the right and flicks the ball infield for Neymar, who busts clear down the inside-right channel! He shapes to shoot, but when he does, from the corner of the six-yard box, he’s nudged by Walker, who has recovered well. Neymar lashes into the side netting. For a second, that was on.
63 min: Mahrez, crossing from a deep position on the right, aims for Silva on the other flank but only manages to flay the ball out for a goal kick. A few frowns and gesticulations. City have been on top since the restart, but for all their possession and territorial dominance, can’t fashion a proper shot at goal.
62 min: Neymar’s back, baby!
61 min: A pause with Neymar down getting treatment after being lightly bowled over from behind by Rodri. There wasn’t a whole load of contact, and the referee didn’t even award a foul, but here we all are.
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59 min: Cancelo swings one in from the left. De Bruyne, racing in from deep, looks like connecting, but Donnarumma thwarts him at the last moment with a brave flick away.
57 min: ... then to show it can happen to the best of them, Messi and Mbappe confuse each other and allow a simple one-yard pass between them run out for a throw.
56 min: City continue to pass, pass, pass; they continue to press, press, press. Walker then passes the ball straight out of play, giving PSG some respite from the runaround. Nice of him.
54 min: Cancelo drops deep down the inside-right channel, draws a couple of white shirts, then slips a cute reverse pass to De Bruyne, who is clear in the box! His low diagonal drive is kicked away brilliantly by Donnarumma.
53 min: Grealish tries to break upfield but is clattered by Verratti. No foul, though. Messi comes back at City and nearly feeds Mbappe on the edge of the box. This game is being played at 101 mph.
51 min: Marquinhos clears the corner with a thumping header. De Bruyne returns it from the right. Donnarumma claims low, then uncharacteristically spills. He gathers just in time with Sterling sniffing around. City are asking a lot of questions here.
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50 min: De Bruyne finds himself in a little space to the right of the PSG box. His cross is dealt with by Kimpembe, but City come back again in short order, Silva’s deep cross from the left leading to a corner on the right.
48 min: Grealish wins a battle under a high ball with Hakimi on the left-hand edge of the PSG box. Inexplicably, a foul’s given to the hosts, with Grealish about to tear into a load of space. City may have got the benefit of the De Bruyne decision, but a lot of the small stuff has gone the way of the home side.
46 min: Cancelo cuts in from the left and slips a ball down the channel for Sterling, who swivels and gets a shot across Donnarumma ... but wide of the right-hand post too.
PSG get the second half underway. No changes by either side.
Half-time reading.
HALF TIME: PSG 1-0 Manchester City
PSG scored a belter, but City have been the better side. They should be level, but Bernardo Silva managed to miss an open goal from a couple of yards. They may also be slightly lucky to still have the full complement of 11 men, Kevin De Bruyne standing on PSG goalscorer Idrissa Gueye’s leg. It’s been fine entertainment. More please!
45 min +3: Mahrez nearly releases Sterling down the right. Offside. Kimpembe bundles Sterling over anyway, perhaps some payback for a few seconds earlier, when the City winger accidentally tapped the PSG defender’s elbow as he was splayed across the turf.
45 min +1: Mahrez chests down a long pass and nearly breaks clear into the box from the right. He can’t quite get a shot away, and Kimpembe comes across to blooter it clear.
45 min: Mahrez crosses from the right. With Grealish lurking, Hakimi does extremely well to head behind for another corner that leads to nothing. There will be four extra minutes.
44 min: Mahrez’s corner doesn’t cause PSG any trouble.
43 min: A corner for City out on the left. De Bruyne curls deep for Dias, who batters a header goalward from the corner of the six-yard box. Donnarumma does extremely well to keep it out. Another corner, this time on the right.
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41 min: Gueye takes quite a while to get up. Eventually he does so. PSG want De Bruyne sent off, but it’s not going to happen. Other opinions are available, of course, but the City man is pretty lucky to escape further censure there. He was clearly going for the ball, which he touched, but then landed his studs heavily on his opponent’s calf. In control?
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39 min: City counter. The move breaks down. De Bruyne lunges for a loose ball, but stands on Gueye’s outstretched leg. He’s immediately booked, but it looks like a red-card foul. VAR will be taking a look.
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38 min: Gueye releases Mbappe down the left. Mbappe reaches the box and is within his rights to shoot, but instead rolls across for Herrera, who opens his body and aims powerfully towards the top right. Ederson saves, tipping over. From the resulting corner, taken quickly, Mbappe twists down the left and fires through the six-yard box. Marquinhos is an inch away from poking home. City clear.
37 min: Mahrez slips De Bruyne into the box down the right. From a tight angle, De Bruyne spins and shoots towards the near post, where Donnarumma claims easily.
36 min: A brief pause as Mendes goes down feeling his calf. He’s back up on his feet again soon enough.
35 min: Messi drops deep to quarterback. He sprays a delightful pass down the left for Mendes, who reaches the edge of the box and cuts back for Neymar. The Brazilian clears the bar in the wild and wonderful fashion.
33 min: Mendes slips Mbappe clear down the left. Upon making the box, he can’t get a shot away. The ball breaks to Messi, who looks towards the top right. His effort flies over, and the flag goes up for offside anyway.
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31 min: Cancelo, just to the left of the D, thrashes a lovely drive towards the bottom right. Donnarumma has safe hands and claims without fuss, but City will wonder how they’re still losing.
30 min: From the corner, Dias wants a penalty, having been wrestled to the ground by Kimpembe, and thrown into the back of Marquinhos for good measure. But you don’t often see those given, for some reason, and this is no exception.
29 min: City are causing PSG plenty of problems. Sterling, Silva and Mahrez busy themselves down the inside-right channel, but everyone’s too close together and the ball eventually breaks away from danger ... only for Herrera, rushing back to help, to run it out for a corner.
27 min: Herrera sticks a cynical leg across an in-flight Grealish. Free kick, but somehow not a yellow. A home-team decision.
26 min: How on earth are Manchester City not level? De Bruyne dinks a cross in from the left with the outside of his boot. Sterling crashes a header off the bar. The ball comes back to Silva, three yards out, and facing an empty net, Donnarumma having committed to the save when Sterling headed goalwards. Silva however manages to lean back and sidefoot the ball off the underside of the bar, allowing Kimpembe to hack clear! That is one of the most preposterous misses you’ll ever see!
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25 min: PSG have enjoyed 52 percent of possession so far. The margin is slim, but it’s not often you can point out that City are on the wrong end of this particular stat.
24 min: Cancelo goes in the book for a cynical lunge on Mbappe, who was making to break upfield on the counter with extreme prejudice. He can have no complaints about that one.
22 min: Messi is this close to releasing Neymar down the inside-left channel with a cute reverse pass. Walker intercepts just in time.
21 min: Another corner is wasted.
20 min: City are dominating possession. A lot of impatient whistling from the stands. Suddenly Cancelo whips one in from a deep position on the left. Silva, rushing in from the other side, shapes to slam home, but Gueye intercepts and bashes out for another corner.
18 min: Nothing comes of the corner. “I grew up in Scotland under Thatcher in the 80’s,” writes Simon McMahon. “Murun Buchstansanger was like reality TV. I’d almost forgotten about it, but now I’m having flashbacks. Pass the brandy, will you?” I can’t, it’s not mine to give. It’s Rossiter’s.
17 min: City have responded well to going behind, with most of the play in the Paris half right now. Silva feeds Mahrez down the right. Mahrez wins a corner.
15 min: A bit of space for Mahrez down the right. He reaches the byline and chips infield. Donnarumma flaps the ball away, getting just enough on it, with a few white shirts circling. Good open game this!
14 min: Grealish runs the ball out of play down the left. Mahrez can’t get onto the end of a long ball down the right. Neymar is already jumping around with the ball between his feet in the style of Cuauhtémoc Blanco.
12 min: City continue to stroke it around and probe. No signs of panic yet, nor should there be.
10 min: Grealish tries to respond with a skitter down the left, but he’s forced to turn tail. That was a hell of a strike, a shot hit with such forensic violence that it was impossible to stop. A statement goal.
GOAL! PSG 1-0 Manchester City (Gueye 8)
What a finish this is! Mbappe is slipped into space down the right. He reaches the byline and cuts back. Neymar takes a fresh-air swipe on the penalty spot. Mahrez tries to toe the ball away from Gueye, but can’t get any purchase on his clearance. Gueye takes a touch to move the ball left to right, before lashing an unstoppable riser into the top right from 12 yards. What a belt!
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6 min: Messi sashays in from the right and briefly threatens to shoot. There’s not quite enough space to get anything away, but you could hear the crackle of anticipation from the home fans the second he started his dribble.
5 min: Silva swings in from the left, looking for Mahrez, coming in from the other flank. Marquinhos intercepts as Mahrez shapes to shoot. Messi has his first touch as he tries to send PSG away on the counter, but his pass is blocked by Cancelo. A brisk start.
3 min: Cancelo rakes one down the left for Grealish, who skips clear, but the flag goes up for offside. That’s a tight decision, and I’m not sure it was the correct one. These are promising early signs for City.
2 min: Sterling is upended by Verratti out on the left. De Bruyne swings the free kick into the mixer. It’s easily cleared by the hosts, but this is a bright start by the visitors, who look in the mood to spread the play wide as often as possible.
1 min: City stroke it around the back a bit, then Laporte dinks one down the right wing. For a second, it looks as though Walker might be released, but Donnarumma is off his line quickly to claim on the edge of his box.
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And we’re off! City get the ball rolling after both sets of players take the knee. There’s a fine atmosphere in the Parc des Princes. Here’s Matt Burtz: “Forgive the non-football question from this ignorant American: Murun Buchstansangur is supposed to be a children’s show?!?!?!” Downbeat kids programming is part of a grand British tradition, emblematic of, and perhaps responsible for, the national psyche. It’s probably best not to pull too hard at this particular thread.
The teams are out! PSG in their blue shirts with red trim, City in their second-choice white. City’s white tracksuits have a natty sky-blue chevron, they’re very nice indeed, though nobody at Puma should think they make up for that third-choice monstrosity they’ve inflicted on half the clubs across Europe. We’ll be off in a minute! “At last I’ve found the only other British person to have watched Murun Buchstansangur,” writes Nicholas Walton, rather melodramatically it has to be said, given that Channel 4 audiences during the mid 1980s often ran into three and sometimes four figures. “Thank you for the memory. I’ve always wondered why Messi served so familiar, but now I know.”
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Pre-match patter on BT Sport with a very cheery Pep Guardiola. “What a pleasure to be here, definitely! Every manager of every team wants to reach last weekend’s level, but it is not always possible. Our intention is always to do our best. This kind of game, the players are not tired because they are so excited, the trip was comfortable, the city is so nice, so there were no complaints. I enjoyed Messi for years, so I am ready to suffer a little bit. [Players like Messi] are too good! We have an idea what game we want to do, and we will try it.”
It’s no good, I’ve had to change the freakish picture at the top of this article. It’s basically what Lionel Messi would look like if you crossed him in a genetic experiment with the titular hero of 1980s Channel 4 depress-fest Murun Buchstansangur. For the record, for those of you who missed it, here’s Leo if he was nothing more than a head and a shoe ...
... and here’s an episode of Murun Buchstansangur, in which Murun goes out for a walk, it starts to rain, and so he goes back to bed with a bottle of brandy. The landscape of children’s entertainment was very different in 1980s Britain.
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Pre-match reading.
Lionel Messi, who had missed PSG’s last couple of matches with a knee issue, has been passed fit to play and starts his first Champions League game for - this still feels odd - his new club. Marco Verratti also returns from injury, while Gianluigi Donnarumma is preferred to Keylor Navas in between the sticks.
Pep Guardiola makes two changes to the Manchester City XI named at Chelsea on Saturday. Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez replace Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden, who both drop to the bench.
The teams
Paris Saint-Germain: Donnarumma, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes, Gueye, Verratti, Ander Herrera, Messi, Mbappe, Neymar.
Subs: Navas, Paredes, Icardi, Danilo Pereira, Dagba, Wijnaldum, Kurzawa, Diallo, Draxler, Kehrer, Ebimbe, Letellier.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Grealish, Sterling.
Subs: McAtee, Stones, Ake, Gabriel Jesus, Steffen, Torres, Fernandinho, Carson, Foden, Wilson-Esbrand.
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain).
Preamble
This is a rerun of last year’s semi-final, in which Manchester City worked PSG over in Paris, then toyed with them in Manchester to the extent that Mauricio Pochettino’s side should really have ended the evening with eight men. That was fun.
PSG have even more superstar firepower now in the shape of Lionel Messi, erstwhile protege of Pep Guardiola. Since Pep left Barcelona, Messi has scored six against his mentor in four games, Bayern Munich and City taking turns to be on the end of those goals. Will he add to his Guardiola goal rush tonight? Will he play? He’s in the squad, this much we know.
This season’s first face-off between two of the competition’s favourites kicks off at 8pm BST. It’s on!
