Paris St-Germain books their place in the last 16. Paris St-Germain book their place in the last 16. Paris St-Germain booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a scrappy victory over Club Bruges in Group A. Thiago Silva conceded a second-half penalty but Mbaye Diagne’s tame effort was comfortably saved by Keylor Navas.
Mauro Icardi scored the only goal as the French champions maintained their perfect start to their European campaign.
PSG will win the group if they do not lose at Real Madrid in their next game. Thomas Tuchel, who was without injured forward Neymar, made three changes to the side that slumped to their third league defeat of the season against bottom-of-the-table Dijon on Sunday, with Thiago Silva and Marco Verratti returning to the side.
The hosts took the lead when Kylian Mbappe’s low cross was missed by Angel Di Maria but tapped in by Icardi from close range. But they failed to build on their advantage as Navas was forced into a double save after the break, to first keep out a fierce shot by Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis, before parrying substitute Diagne’s follow-up out for a corner.
PSG captain Silva fouled Diagne to give away a penalty moments later, but forward latter could not beat Navas from 12 yards as PSG kept a fourth consecutive clean sheet in the competition.
PSG stretch home run – the stats
- PSG have not lost a home Champions League group stage match since December 2004 against CSKA Moscow and are unbeaten in their last 23 matches of this kind at the Parc des Princes (W18 D5 L0).
- PSG have scored in each of their last 24 group stage games in the Champions League, last failing to net in November 2015 (v Real Madrid).
- Club Bruges have scored just two goals in their last six games in the group stage of the Champions League, failing to score in five of those matches.
- Club Bruges had 14 shots in the match, the most they have had in an away game in the Champions League since October 2005 (16 v Rapid Vienna).
- PSG’s Mauro Icardi has scored eight goals in his first 10 games in the Champions League, only Sadio Mane, Simone Inzaghi & Harry Kane have done better in the history of the competition (nine each).
Source – BBC News
In other news – Bheki Cele – Politicians must account for service delivery protests
Police Minister Bheki Cele says politicians must be called to account to residents when there is a protest instead of calling police to rein in violent protesters.
Cele was speaking on Wednesday at the ongoing Popcru (Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union) conference in Durban on Wednesday. Addressing the union, Cele lamented that fighting crime in some parts of the country, more so in informal settlements, was risky because of unstructured settlements where houses are not correctly numbered. Read more.
Source: metro
