A group stage full of emotion!

Although Group A was made up of Manchester City, Leipzig, Bruges and Paris Saint-Germain and it promised real fireworks, our Rouge et Bleu's campaign got underway with a draw on the other side of the border in Bruges. 

Three months after their defeat in the semi-final of the greatest European competition, Les Parisiens needed to throw themselves back into the deep end as the came up against the best teams from the continent. The first matchday saw the first outing for the Messi-Mbappé-Neymar Jr trio. But on that evening in Belgium, the opener would come from a surprise goalscorer: Ander Herrera was found by Kylian Mbappé on a rapid counter-attack and the game was underway! Bruges quickly got themselves back on level terms, and then looked to build a wall and block all access to their goal! A 1-1 draw brought a committed performance to a close.

It was then time to welcome last year's finalists to the Parc des Princes! It was a match against The Citizens that provided a lot of pleasure for all Rouge et Bleu supporters. And the reason? Our number 30 perfectly selected his moment to score his first ever goal in his new colours. The evening was particularly marked by a majestic performance from Idrissa Gueye. The Senegalese midfielder opened the scoring in the 8th minute with a powerful strike into the back of the net. And the number 27 wasn't satisfied with just a goal. He put in an incredible performance in every domain and ended the match with remarkable statistics: 92% pass completion, 100% tackles won and 8 interceptions for the midfielder who was deservedly named Man of the Match. Without a doubt, it was the best team performance that we saw in this year's group stage!

Chapter three saw Les Parisiens host a team that they know extremely well, having had 5 direct confrontations in the last two years: Leipzig. And Mauricio Pochettino's side showed real courage in a lively atmosphere which drove them on. After an unstoppable opener from Kylian Mbappé, the German side equalised moments later, before taking control of the encounter at the start of the second half. Initially leading and then trailing, Les Parisiens dug deep to get back on level terms thanks to a Leo Messi goal, after a perfect assist from our number 7! The World Champion then won a penalty which his Argentine teammate stepped up to convert and pick up his first brace for Paris. A real comeback that left its mark on the 48,000 supporters in the stadium that night.  

Two weeks later, Paris Saint-Germain headed to Leipzig with the objective of consolidating first place in Group A. Former Parisian Christopher Nkunku needed just eight minutes to open the scoring and delight the German supporters! But it didn't take much longer than that to see the visitors' response either. Stung early on, Les Parisiens reacted thanks to Georginio Wijnaldum! The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder made it two when he picked up his first brace for the club, as he turned home Marquinhos' header from a corner, allowing his side to take the lead. The club from the capital had deployed all of its arms in vain, however. Having lead throughout the second half, Paris were punished by a penalty in injury time. A penalty that cost Mauricio Pochettino's side two points. 

Unbeaten until then, it was in a bitterly cold Manchester that Les Parisiens suffered their first defeat. After resisting the constant attacks from Pep Guardiola's side in the first half, the club from the capital's audacity bore fruits when they returned for the second half. And through who else but the in-form Kylian Mbappé to frustrate the home side with the opener! However, last year's runners-up brought out their A game and went on to secure the victory in front of their fans.

The final battle of the group stage took place in Paris, with the visit of Bruges for a record-breaking evening! Once again the protagonist for the opening goal of the evening, Kylian Mbappé scored his fastest goal in his professional career, finding the back of the net after just 1 minute and 11 seconds, beating his previous record of 1 minute and 39 seconds against Nantes in Ligue 1 on 20 November 2021.

In supersonic form, the forward made it two less than five minutes later. With this brace, the number 7 made it his 30th and 31st Champions League Goals, becoming the youngest player to achieve this feat in the competition (22 years and 352 days). After only 6 minutes and 21 seconds, he scored the second fastest brace from a player starting a Champions League match, behind Rodrygo for Real Madrid against Galatasaray in  November 2019 (06:13). Leo Messi picked up two assists on that evening against his 38th different opposition in the Champions League. No player boasts a better record in the history of the competition.

A solid group stage for Paris Saint-Germain who finished in second place in Group A, just a point behind The Citizens. It means that Les Rouge et Bleu have now qualified for the next round of the competition in each of the last 10 seasons. Only Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have done as well since 2012-2013.

Les Rouge et Bleu will be in action in the Round of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday 15 February at 21:00 at the Parc des Princes against Real Madrid! A match that promises to excite...