SPORT FIESTA: A Late Winner, Huge Advantage For The French Side.
As the Uefa Champions leagues returns, the 13 times winner of the competition Real Madrid was hosted by the French league leaders Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the round of sixteen on Tuesday night. The game was a much anticipated one, as Lionel Messi looked set to face one of his arch rivals again, but this time on a different soil and with different team mates.
The first 45 minutes of the game saw both team produce no stellar moments as they both went in with same score line just as they had began, although the French side had majority of the possession but just as the saying goes here in Nigeria"possession no day win match". It was a goaless first half.
The second half started with a little bit of momentum from the French side as the Real Madrid keeper was called into action just five minutes into the game(He had the perfect answer for the occasion). The half was about to come into life when the Madrid right back Carvajal brought down Mbappe in their box in the 60th minute, the referee was not shy in pointing to the spot. Lionel Messi the seven times Ballon d’Or winner was not able to put his team ahead as the Madrid goalkeeper Courtois rose up to the occasion for the second time in the 61th minute of the game.
The game was more of an even game afterward until the substitute Neymar played in his team mate Mbappe with a lovely back heel on the 94th minute. The france international wasted no time in putting the ball at the back of the net, as he gave his side a big lift ahead of the returning game in Madrid. The Madrid players were left undone as they would feel a draw would have been a deserving result at that stage of the game.
Mauricio Pochettino and his side will be going into the second leg of the tie with a huge advantage, hoping they would get the job done, all thanks to Mbappe's late winner.