Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi both netted twice as Paris Saint-Germain found their top form to blow away Belgian opponents Club Brugge in Tuesday’s Champions League clash
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Kylian Mbappe scored a quickfire double to setup a comfortable Champions League victory for Paris Saint-Germain and break a long-standing competition record previously held by Lionel Messi.
The Frenchman netted twice inside the opening seven minutes as Les Parisiens blew away Club Brugge in their concluding group stage match as attacking partner Messi also grabbed a brace.
Mbappe’s first of the night was his 30th goal in the competition, meaning that he eclipsed club teammate Messi’s record in the Champions League as being the youngest player to reach that landmark.
The striker is less than a fortnight away from his 23rd birthday, aged 22 years and 352 days – while Messi was 23 years and 131 days old when he reached the landmark in 2010.
After a week in which Mauricio Pochettino’s side were held to successive Ligue 1 draws by Nice and Lens respectively, Tuesday evening’s victory was a timely one at the Parc des Princes.
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The game was effectively finished as a contest within the opening minutes after the home side flew out of the blocks to establish a commanding lead over their Belgian visitors.
A well-placed finish from Mbappe opened the scoring in the second minute and Club Brugge were still reeling when the 22-year-old added a second striker five minutes later.
The second was an outstanding team move from Pochettino’s side as Angel di Maria – in the side due to the injury absence of Neymar – provided a superbly timed threaded delivery for Mbappe to latch onto and fire home a second.
It was then time for Messi to get on the act, picking the ball up 30 yards from goal seven minutes ahead of the break before going on a typical mazey dribble before firing in a left-footed curling effort from outside the box.
The visitors needed to win the match to stand any chance of trumping RB Leipzig to third place in the group and a Europa League playoff game for the Round of 16.
In the Belgian side’s defence, they rallied throughout the game and managed to produce a total of 13 efforts on goal – of which five were on target.
Midfielder Mats Rits pulled a consolation goal back for Brugge midway through the second half but just eight minutes later the hosts would restore their three-goal advantage.
Messi was felled inside the area and the Argentine picked himself up, dusted himself down and then fired home a fourth from the spot.
That was the 34-year-old’s fifth goal in the competition this campaign, having also netted twice in the 3-2 win at home to Leipzig and in the 2-0 victory over Manchester City in the France capital.
Messi has so far been unable to replicate this form in Ligue 1 for PSG, where he has netted just once in nine appearances to date.
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