Argentine star Lionel Messi scored a brace and provided two assists as Paris Saint-Germain recorded a stunning 7-2 victory over Israeli club Maccabi Haifa.
In addition to Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Carlos Soler were also on the scoreboard. For his part, Abdoulaye Seck scored a brace for the visiting team.
Before the match, Paris Saint-Germain needed a win to qualify for the next stage of the UEFA Champions League. So they were looking for a home win.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier started with a 4-3-2-1 formation. Gianluigi Donnarumma started under the bar. Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, Marquinhos and Juan Bernat completed the defense. Fabian Ruiz, Renato Sanches and Vitinha
Lionel Messi scores a brace
Defending Ligue-1 champions Paris Saint-Germain had a great start to the match. They took the lead through Lionel Messi in the 19th minute of play.
Messi received the ball from Mbappé in the area and found the back of the net with a shot outside the boot. Kylian Mbappe then scored the second goal of the game for PSG. Shortly after, Messi helped Neymar make it 3-0.
The visiting team pulled one back in the 38th minute. Maccabi defender Abdoulaye Seck found himself in some space and scored with a brilliant header, giving the away fans great joy.
However, their celebrations were soon interrupted when the Argentine striker scored his second goal of the game with a typical Messi strike. Lionel Messi played a one-two with Mbappe before unleashing a brilliant curl from the edge of the area. The first part ended with a score of 4-1.
PSG stumbled for the second time when the game restarted. Once again Abdoulaye Seck scored for the visitors in the 51st minute with another brilliant header.
However, PSG once restored their three-goal lead when French striker Kylian Mbappe scored a brilliant goal. After this goal, Maccabi Haifa was destroyed and from then on it was a mere formality. However, Christophe Galtier’s team kept looking for goals.
They scored their sixth goal when Maccabi defender Sean Golberg kicked the ball into his own goal with a toe kick. The last nail in the coffin was given by Carlos Soler. The Spaniard who found Lionel Messi, scored past the Maccabi goalkeeper to make the score 7-2.
With this victory, Paris Saint-Germain qualified for the round of 16. They have eleven points from five games and a better goal difference than Benfica.
Meanwhile, Maccabi Haifa will remain bottom of Group H. They still have a chance of qualifying for the Europa League if they finish third in the group.
