The Parisians topple Juve

For this last matchday of the group stage, the Parisians had their feet in Turin, but their eyes were riveted on Haifa, where their direct competitors Benfica were trying to pip them to top spot in Group H. In a packed Juventus Stadium on Wednesday evening, they had to contend with a Bianconeri side desperate to make a final push to qualify for the Europa League. Christophe Galtier opted for continuity by keeping his tactics the same, with Carlos Soler filling in for the suspended Neymar Jr behind the Messi-Mbappé duo.

Regardless of form or rankings, a match between two of European football's institutions has the same special flavour. And the first half of the match was a testament to this, with both teams determined to bring their most dangerous weapons to bear.

In the early stages, Les Rouge et Bleu played a very disciplined game to resist the pressure imposed by the Italians. Who better than the duo Messi-Mbappé to quell the Juve's enthusiasm? From a move initiated by the Argentine, our No.7 worked his way around most of the Juve nuts defence before unleashing a low curler that cannoned in off the base of the far post (0-1, 13').

Later in the half, it was to be expected that, as the Italians were playing for their survival, they were bound to start swinging heavily. For a long time, our defenders were able to handle the tougher moments thanks to great self-sacrifice and the impetus of a dedicated captain in Marquinhos. However Juve managed to get back into the game with an opportunistic goal from Bonucci (1-1, 39'). In short, it was a half of football as thrilling as it was balanced.

After a quick break it was back to work for both teams, who came out for the second half as hungry as ever. The virtually unplayable Kylian Mbappé tried everything to crack the Bianconeri's defence again, but the scoreline hadn't change by the hour-mark and Christophe Galtier decided to ring the changes, bringing on Hugo Ekitike and Nuno Mendes. A winning move! With his first touch, the Portugal prodigy Mendes, played into space by the Frenchman, burst into the area at full speed and unleashed a low, angled pile-driver that found the inside netting inside the far post (1-2, 68').

The Parisians had fulfilled their part of the contract, but the circumstances of the evening - in conjunction with Benfica's 6-1 mauling of Maccabi Haifa in Group H's other match - saw them slip to the second place, albeit on goal difference alone. The fact remains that Paris Saint-Germain ended the group stage unbeaten and can now look ahead to the Round of 16, with a quick detour through two final matches before the World Cup.