Juventus tasted their first defeat against PSG in the European competition as a brace from talisman Kylian Mbappe etched a perfect start to the Champions League campaign for Les Parisiens.
A lofted through ball from Neymar Jr ended with Mbappe blasting the net with a fiery volley, breaking the deadlock in the fifth minute of the match. In the opening minutes, Juve looked puzzled. Mbappe came to haunt them once again as a tidy bit of build-up down the right side of PSG’s attack saw Achraf Hakimi provide the Frenchman with a fantastic centre. The scoreline turned 2-0 in the home side’s favour.
In the second half, a giant leap from Weston McKennie, who had just come onto the field to replace Fabio Miretti, helped him meet the end of a cross put into the box by Filip Kostic. Juventus got one back from the Texan’s header.
Although the Bianconeri defence was able to keep Lionel Messi under control for the entirety of the match, they failed to find another way to make a comeback. As a result, it all ended in a 2-1 defeat for the Old Lady. Here are the player ratings from Juventus’ first game of the Champions League 2022/23.
PSG (3-4-2-1): Donnarumma (7); Sergio Ramos (6.5), Marquinhos (6.5), Kimpembe (6.5); Hakimi (7.5), Verratti (7), Vitinha (7), Nuno Mendes (7); Messi (6), Neymar (7.5); Mbappé (8.5)
Substitutes: Mukiele (N/A), Pereira (N/A), Soler (N/A), Sanches (N/A)
Juventus (3-5-2): Perin (6); Danilo (5), Bonucci (5), Bremer (5); Miretti (5), Paredes (5.5), Rabiot (5), Cuadrado (5), Kostić (6); Milik (5.5), Vlahović (5).
Substitutes: McKennie (6.5), Locatelli (5.5), De Sciglio (N/A), Kean (N/A)
GIFN | Jyotirmoy Halder
