Seven-time Ballon D’or winner, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain rounded out their Champions League group-stage campaign with a 4-1 thumping of Club Brugge on Tuesday.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Mbappe scored twice in the first seven minutes before setting up Messi to make it 3-0 just before the break.
Mats Rits got one back for the Belgians in the second half but Messi then netted a penalty to make it 4-1 and give PSG a welcome confidence boost in an underwhelming European campaign to date.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side knew before this game that they were heading through to the last 16 in second place in Group A behind Manchester City after losing 2-1 in England last month.
In theoretical terms, it means a harder tie against a group winner awaits them in next Monday’s draw, with Liverpool, Ajax, Bayern Munich, and Manchester United already potential opponents.
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Mbappe, who doesn’t turn 23 until later this month, is a player in a hurry and he is already onto 30 Champions League goals in his career — at the same age Messi had 25 and Cristiano Ronaldo, now the competition’s all-time top scorer, had eight.
It was a stunning burst of pace from Mbappe on the left that led to PSG’s third goal in the 38th minute as he picked out Messi in the middle and the Argentinian advanced to the edge of the box before scoring with a trademark left-foot finish into the corner.
The visitors pulled one back midway through the second half as Noa Lang set up Rits to finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
However, with RB Leipzig beating Manchester City 2-1 in the other Group A game, Club Brugge were condemned to finishing bottom and missing out on a consolation Europa League spot.
Messi then made it 4-1 for the Ligue 1 leaders in the 76th minute, converting a penalty he had won himself.
While the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has managed just one Ligue 1 goal in nine appearances since moving to France in August, he now has five in five Champions League appearances for PSG.
Messi moves onto 125 career goals in the Champions League, a tally bettered only by his old rival Ronaldo, who has 140.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK