Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Real Sociedad (5 Mar, 2024) Game Analysis،
Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappé scored twice to take them into the Champions League quarter-finals with a comfortable 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in their return leg which concluded a 4-1 aggregate victory on Tuesday .
Vying to win their first Champions League title, a disciplined PSG made the most of their chances on counter-attacks, with lightning-fast Mbappé a constant threat.
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After a remarkable group stage where they went undefeated to finish ahead of last year's runners-up Inter Milan in Group D, injury-plagued La Liga side Real Sociedad won one of its last 10 matches in all competitions, has run out of steam.
Mbappé had an inspired evening, and his speed and agility were too much for the host defense to handle. He was virtually unstoppable on the left channel, and Tuesday's brace means he has scored 11 of PSG's last 15 knockout goals in the Champions League.
“We knew straight away that we couldn’t sleep,” Mbappé told Canal Plus. “If they had opened the score, they would have continued with the support of their supporters.
We had to dampen their hopes from the start. That's what we did and we're very happy to be back in the quarter-finals.”
Mbappé created a few chances early on before scoring the opener with a fabulous curling strike in the 15th minute.
After receiving a long pass from Ousmane Dembélé, he leapt into the box, darting from the touchline and feinting to shoot, before moving the ball off his feet again and creating just enough space to launch a curling effort into the far corner.
The goal silenced a sold-out Reale Arena, seemingly stunned by the vision and technique of the French captain, who then saw a similar effort denied by goalkeeper Álex Remiro.
But Mbappé scored again in the 56th minute, taking a through ball from Lee Kang-in in his stride before bursting into the box and beating the goalkeeper at his near post.
PSG seemed content to sit back against a tame Real Sociedad who posed little threat for most of the match.
They tried to push late, but were first repelled by the post following a strike from Martín Zubimendi, then by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who made a fine reflex to deny Beñat Turrientes from close range.
Mikel Merino finally scored a consolation goal in the 89th minute from a deflected strike, but it was too little, too late to prevent PSG from reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in three years.
