Tag: PSG

Kylian Mbappe told Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Monday that he would not be taking up an option to extend his contract until 2025, raising the spectre of him following Lionel Messi out of the club this summer.

The 24-year-old France striker’s current deal expires at the end of next season, with the option of another year.

If he does not sign, the French champions risk losing him for nothing in a year’s time — so they could now sell him this summer rather than miss out on a windfall for one of the world’s best players.

Kylian Mbappe’s decision not to renew, announced in a letter to the club and revealed by the French sports daily L’Equipe, is a fresh blow to PSG following the loss of Messi to Inter Miami.

There had been a deadline of July 31, 2023, for Mbappe to decide.

Mbappe’s move comes a little over a year since he snubbed Real Madrid by signing a surprise extension to his contract to remain at the Parc des Princes.

Real would again be chief among his suitors.

Kylian Mbappe’s entourage did not respond immediately when asked late Monday evening.

The striker’s departure for free at the end of his current contract, in the summer of 2024, would prove catastrophic for PSG.

In addition to the void left in the team, the club would also be deprived of the millions of euros a transfer would earn.

The future of Brazilian fellow star striker Neymar, under contract until 2025, also appears vague ahead of what is shaping up to be a summer of upheaval in the French capital.

Kylian Mbappe joined PSG on a season-long loan from Monaco in August 2017 that turned into a permanent deal worth 180 million euros ($194 million).

He helped France to World Cup glory as a teenager in 2018 and has established himself as arguably the leading forward on the global stage.

Kylian Mbappe also scored a hat-trick in France’s 2022 World Cup final defeat to Messi’s Argentina and helped Paris Saint-Germain win a record 11th French title.

But Mbappe hinted last month that he could leave in 2024.

“I said that next year I will play at PSG. I still have a year of contract so I will honour my contract,” he said when asked about his future at an awards ceremony where he was voted the Ligue 1 player of the season for the fourth successive time.

At Clairefontaine, where France are preparing for their next Euro qualifying matches, the striker appeared relaxed on Monday.

Smiling and joking with coach Didier Deschamps and fellow attacker Antoine Griezmann, he participated in afternoon training and signed dozens of autographs for spectators.

The announcement of Kylian Mbappe’s intentions to PSG are yet another annoyance for the club’s Qatari owners following a difficult season on and off the pitch, despite winning the French title.

After another failure in the Champions League, the club are working to find a successor to coach Christophe Galtier.

The season was widely seen as a disappointment after PSG were dumped out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich in the last 16 and from the French Cup at the same stage.

As for Neymar, the Brazilian’s fitness has regularly been a concern for PSG, ever since he signed from Barcelona for a world-record fee of 222 million euros in 2017.

He has scored 118 goals in 173 games for PSG, but has missed more than 100 games due either to injury or suspension.

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French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) announced on Friday that veteran former Spain defender Sergio Ramos will join Lionel Messi in leaving the club at the end of the season.

Sergio Ramos, 37, arrived in the French capital in 2021 after a trophy-laden spell with Real Madrid, lifting the Champions League four times.

“We would like to express our immense gratitude to Sergio Ramos for the two years he has spent with us,” PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said in a statement.

“Sergio’s leadership, team spirit and professionalism, combined with his experience at the highest level, make him a true football legend, and it was an honour to have him in Paris.

“Everyone at the club wishes him all the best,” Al-Khelaifi added.

The announcement came less than 24 hours before PSG’s final game of the Ligue 1 season as they host Clermont.

Sergio Ramos follows Argentina’s 2022 World Cup winner Lionel Messi out of the Parc des Princes door with reports also linking Brazil’s Neymar with a departure.

“Tomorrow is a special day, tomorrow I will say goodbye to another stage of my life, goodbye to @psg,” Ramos said on social media.

“I don’t know in how many places one can feel at home, but without a doubt PSG, the fans, and Paris were one of them for me.

“Thank you for two special years in which I was able play in every tournament and give my all,” he added.

The ex-Sevilla defender won Ligue 1 twice in Paris, playing 57 games and his PSG contract will end on June 30.

44 of those appearances came this campaign after a first season, with Mauricio Pochettino in charge, was plagued by injury.

Sergio Ramos, who won the 2010 World Cup with Spain, and Messi arrived in the same summer eyeing a Champions League title with PSG but they were knocked out in the last 16 of both editions.

Lionel Messi has been linked with moves to Inter Miami and a club in Saudi Arabia as well as a return to Barcelona.

Later on Friday, newspaper L’Equipe claimed PSG boss Christophe Galthier will also say goodbye to the club after this weekend’s fixture.

Despite this year’s league title win, the failure in European competition is what Galthier has been judged on.

Reports say PSG are interested in bringing in Real Madrid attacker Marco Asensio for next season as well as Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar, as another summer of re-building is set to get underway.

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PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain clinched a French record 11th league title on Saturday as Lionel Messi scored in a 1-1 draw away at Strasbourg.

Messi’s opener was cancelled out by a Kevin Gameiro equaliser, but the result gave PSG an unassailable four-point lead over second-placed Lens with one match of the season remaining.

PSG moved ahead of the previous record of 10 titles set by Saint-Etienne in 1981 and which they equalled a year ago under former coach Mauricio Pochettino.

It is PSG’s ninth title in the last 11 seasons, a period in which they have dominated French football under Qatari ownership.

“This afternoon I watched the last day of the season in the Bundesliga and you can see that it is very difficult to win the league, any league,” PSG coach Christophe Galtier told broadcaster Canal Plus.

“The reigning champions in all European leagues have often had problems this season, so we appreciate what this means.

“It is a title and we must not believe it is normal to win, even if we are Paris Saint-Germain.”

PSG started the penultimate weekend of the season six points clear of nearest rivals Lens with just six points to play for, and with a far better goal difference.

A Lens slip-up would have seen the capital side crowned champions with a game to spare even in defeat, but in the end they needed the draw as their challengers eased to a 3-0 win over already-relegated Ajaccio.

Kylian Mbappe set up Messi to put PSG ahead just before the hour with his 16th Ligue 1 goal this season.

Ex-Paris striker Gameiro equalised with 11 minutes left, bundling in the rebound after Gianluigi Donnarumma had saved from Morgan Sanson.

The draw ultimately suited both teams as it enabled Strasbourg to guarantee their top-flight survival.

PSG started the season superbly and did not lose a game in any competition before the World Cup.

However, they lost six of their first 17 league games in 2023 and were eliminated from the Champions League in the last 16 by Bayern Munich and in the French Cup at the same stage.

Those results increased speculation that Galtier — who also won the title with Lille two years ago — will be replaced in the close season.

Messi is expected to depart when his contract expires at the end of the campaign, meaning next weekend’s match at home to Clermont is likely to be his last in a PSG shirt.

– Lens clinch Champions League ticket –

Lens secured second place and a ticket for next season’s Champions League group stage with their win against Ajaccio, which was sealed by first-half goals from Deiver Machado, Adrien Thomasson and Lois Openda.

Belgian striker Openda netted a penalty for his 20th goal in Ligue 1 this season.

Marseille, who lost 2-1 at home to Brest, must therefore settle for third place and will enter the Champions League in the third qualifying round.

Beneath them, Lille are in pole position to qualify for the Europa League after coming from behind to beat Nantes 2-1 and move up to fourth position.

Quentin Merlin put relegation-threatened Nantes in front in the far north, but two second-half penalties from Canada’s Jonathan David gave Lille the victory.

Lille are now a point above both Rennes and Monaco, who met on Saturday, with the Brittany side winning 2-0 thanks to second-half goals by Lovro Majer and Amine Gouiri.

Rennes are fifth, above Monaco on goal difference. Fifth place goes into next season’s Europa Conference League while sixth will not qualify for Europe at all.

Lyon’s European hopes were effectively ended despite a 3-0 win over Reims in which Alexandre Lacazette scored his 27th Ligue 1 goal this season, leaving him just one behind Mbappe, the division’s top marksman.

Nantes will go into the final weekend having to win to stand a chance of avoiding relegation as they sit 17th, two points behind Auxerre, who drew 1-1 at Toulouse.

Angers, Ajaccio and Troyes have already been relegated. Four teams go down and only two come up from Ligue 2 as the top flight is reduced from 20 clubs to 18 for next season.

There were also wins on Saturday for Angers, Nice and Clermont.

Lionel Messi’s future at PSG was plunged into doubt on Wednesday after he was suspended by Paris Saint-Germain after travelling to Saudi Arabia without the club’s permission.

A source with knowledge of the disciplinary procedure told AFP that Argentina’s 35-year-old World-Cup winning captain, who is out of contract at the end of the season, would be sidelined for “several days”, while various media in France reported that he would be suspended for two weeks.

“He cannot train, cannot play, and will not be paid while disciplinary measures are in place,” the source added.

Another source, also speaking on condition they were not identified, indicated that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner would “probably” be sidelined for a fortnight, noting that “nobody is more important than the club”.

Messi played the whole game in PSG’s 3-1 home defeat by Lorient in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

He then travelled to Saudi Arabia to fulfil commercial commitments in his role as a tourism ambassador for the Gulf state.

The Saudi Tourism Authority said in a press release on Wednesday that Messi had “returned to Saudi for a second time, this time with his family” and had been treated to a demonstration of palm weaving and had fed Arabian gazelles.

As a result of the trip, Messi missed a training session scheduled for Monday following the weekend defeat.

The PSG squad were given a day off on Tuesday and Messi did not take part in training on Wednesday either.

– ‘Fed up with mercenaries’ –

PSG are due to return to league action away at struggling Troyes on Sunday, a game that Messi may now miss.

If he were to be sidelined for two weeks he would also sit out a home match against Ajaccio on May 13.

The disciplinary measures make the prospect of Messi staying in the French capital after his two-year deal expires at the end of this season even more remote.

Having at one point looked set to extend his stay for another year, a source close to the club told AFP last month that he was now “much more likely” to depart.

Messi arrived from Barcelona, the club where he had spent the majority of his career, in 2021 but has struggled to reproduce his best form at Qatar-backed Paris.

Despite that, he has scored 31 goals in 71 appearances in all competitions.

He was recently jeered by a section of the PSG support, who see him as a symbol of all the club have done wrong in focusing on superstar signings while failing to build a genuinely competitive team.

Messi has scored 20 goals in all competitions this season and is the leading assist provider in Ligue 1, with 15.

However, his form since leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar has declined along with that of most of the PSG team.

Their insipid performance against Lorient was a sixth defeat in 17 Ligue 1 matches in 2023.

They remain five points clear of Marseille at the top of the table with five games left, and are therefore still on course for a record 11th French title.

However, they were knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 by Bayern Munich and also went out of the French Cup at the same stage to Marseille.

Meanwhile hundreds of fans gathered at the club to protest over PSG’s current form and the Messi saga.

“We’re fed up with mercenaries! We must sack Messi! We must sack Nasser Al-Khelaifi (the club’s Qatari president),” supporters chanted.

“We are sincerely worried about the future and the sustainability of our club,” the team’s ‘ultras’ supporters said in a statement, adding “is there still a pilot on the plane?”

Meanwhile, several videos posted on Twitter appeared to show a group of supporters, dressed in black gathered in front of the home of Neymar, shouting abuse at their injured Brazilian superstar.

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Paris Saint-Germain has suspended Lionel Messi for two weeks after the Argentinian star travelled to Saudi Arabia without the club’s permission, reported BBC on Wednesday.

According to the details, Messi missed the club’s training session on Monday to attend promotional events in the Kingdom.

He asked permission from PSG before his trip to the Gulf state but the club refused owing to a change in their training schedule.

Messi believes he did originally have permission to travel to Saudi, but that was then withdrawn due to a change in the club’s training schedule, said BBC.

Messi’s contract with PSG expires in June this year, and his reported trip to Saudi Arabia comes amid multiple reports that the 35-year-old is not interested in renewing his contract with the French club.

World Cup winner Messi departed for Saudi Arabia after PSG’s home defeat by Lorient on Sunday, in which Messi played the full 90 minutes.

He is set to miss matches against Troyes and Ajaccio as PSG top the Ligue 1 standings and look to win their ninth title in 11 seasons.

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PARIS: Kylian Mbappe on Thursday complained about Paris Saint-Germain’s use of a video of him for their season-ticket advertising campaign before the club removed the footage.

PSG’s star striker said he would fight for “individual image rights” after an interview with him was used by the club in a video to promote ticket sales for next season.

“At no time was I informed of the content of the interview,” Mbappe said on Instagram.

“It looked like a basic interview during a club marketing day. I don’t agree with this published video.

“This is why I am fighting for individual image rights. PSG is a big club and a big family, but it is certainly not Kylian Saint-Germain.”

French champions PSG later took the video down from their website and YouTube channel, although it can still be viewed on other YouTube channels.

France captain Mbappe was the only player to speak in the promotional film.

Lionel Messi, who a source told AFP earlier this week is set to leave PSG at the end of this season, was not featured.

Neymar, who is recovering from an ankle injury, did not feature either.

PSG did not comment on Mbappe’s remarks when contacted.

Mbappe has called for individual image rights for players while on international duty with France.

Last September he refused to take part in a photo shoot and said he didn’t mind “putting myself in the spotlight if it is beneficial for all my teammates, even if it means I get criticised.”

His actions led the French Football Federation agreeing to modify its agreement with players relating to their image rights.

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PARIS: Lionel Messi is “much more likely” to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season than sign a new deal, a source close to the club told AFP on Tuesday.

“The dynamics have completely changed with PSG less pushing to renew (his contract),” the source said, adding that there was “no deal, no exit yet. But exit is much more likely.”

World Cup winner Messi, who will turn 36 in June, joined in 2021 on a two-year deal which expires at the end of this campaign.

On Sunday, the Argentine’s name was jeered by some PSG fans as the teams were announced prior to the 1-0 home defeat against Lyon in Ligue 1.

Supporters of the Qatar-owned club are unhappy at the malaise around the team since they were eliminated from the Champions League in the last 16 by Bayern Munich last month.

PSG have lost eight times in 18 games in 2023, a run which has seen them go out of the French Cup prematurely although they remain six points clear at the top of the French table.

“The fans have changed things completely,” the source said of the chances of Messi’s deal being renewed and the supporters’ reaction at the weekend.

Messi has scored 29 goals and set up 32 more in 67 appearances for PSG in all competitions.

Yet his form has dipped since he led Argentina to glory at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year.

Some fans see him as a symbol of all the club have done wrong in focusing on superstar signings while failing to build a genuinely competitive team.

Messi is currently costing PSG around 40 million euros ($43.6 million) a year in wages at a time when the club have to keep in line with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, although there have been suggestions they could offer him a new deal on a reduced salary.

Barcelona have been openly courting Messi, hoping to persuade the Argentine to return to the Camp Nou two years after he left the club where he won four Champions League titles. He left Barcelona when the club could not afford to renew his contract.

“I would love it if he returned,” Barca vice-president Rafael Yuste said last week as he admitted there had been “contact” with Messi.

He has also been linked with a possible move to Major League Soccer where Inter Miami are said to be interested in signing him.

If Messi departs, PSG would likely be doubly determined to keep hold of Kylian Mbappe for at least one more season, a year after persuading the France striker to sign a new deal and turn down overtures from Real Madrid.

As well as the uncertainty over Messi’s future, there are doubts about coach Christophe Galtier, who was only appointed last July but has come under intense pressure following recent results.

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PARIS: Kingsley Coman scored the only goal of the game as Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, with substitute Kylian Mbappe denied a late equaliser by a marginal offside call.

The unmarked Coman swept in an Alphonso Davies cross eight minutes into the second half at the Parc des Princes, just as Mbappe was preparing to enter the fray on his return from injury after PSG had appeared devoid of ideas without their top scorer.

Mbappe, and the entire stadium, thought he had equalised with eight minutes remaining when he turned in a Nuno Mendes cutback, but the goal was ruled out because the Portuguese full-back was just ahead of the last defender at the start of the move.

Bayern finished the game with 10 men after Benjamin Pavard was sent off, but it was a frustrating ending for PSG.

The French giants looked much better in the latter stages with Mbappe on the field but also needed fine saves by Gianluigi Donnarumma to prevent a bigger deficit.

PSG must hope they can turn the tie around in the second leg in Munich on March 8.

“We are at a disadvantage but we saw that we were capable of causing them problems and now we just need to make sure all our players are in good health and we will go there to try to qualify,” Mbappe, who had another goal ruled out for a clear offside, said.

Coman, who started his career in Paris, did not celebrate his goal but it was a case of history repeating itself — he had been the matchwinner when Bayern beat the Qatar-owned club in the 2020 final in Lisbon to become European champions for the sixth time.

“It was a bit strange. I grew up at this club, in this city, I was born here, so it was difficult to celebrate but at the end we are really pleased with the victory,” Coman said.

Mbappe’s fitness had dominated the build-up to the game, with the France superstar initially ruled out because of a thigh injury before making a faster-than-expected return to training and being named in the squad.

He was named among the substitutes, while Warren Zaire-Emery, at 16 years and 343 days old, became the youngest player ever to start a Champions League knockout game.

But Bayern had little to be afraid of in the first half as Mbappe –- scorer of seven goals in six games in the group stage –- watched on, with Lionel Messi and Neymar badly missing his presence.

Messi, Neymar struggle

Instead Bayern, playing with a three-man central defence, controlled the game and restricted PSG to just one attempt in the first half.

Yet the Bundesliga leaders, still without Sadio Mane as he recovers from injury, did little to trouble Donnarumma apart from a Joshua Kimmich shot that was easily saved.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann took off Joao Cancelo at half-time and replaced him with Canadian international Davies, a change that saw Coman move from the left flank to the right.

PSG also made a change, replacing Achraf Hakimi with France centre-back Presnel Kimpembe, but the biggest cheer of the night had been reserved for Mbappe when he came out to warm up during the break.

The 24-year-old was preparing to come on when Bayern opened the scoring as Davies crossed from the left to the far post where the unmarked Coman finished.

Mbappe promptly replaced Carlos Soler but the French champions needed Donnarumma to keep them in the game, and perhaps the tie, as he produced a fingertip save to touch an Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting effort onto the woodwork.

From the corner that followed, Donnarumma saved from Pavard’s header.

PSG needed to get the ball to Mbappe and they eventually did in the 73rd minute, a Fabian Ruiz ball over the top sending the forward bounding towards goal.

Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer rushed out to block Mbappe’s shot with his face before Neymar was denied from the follow-up.

Then Mbappe did put the ball in the net, only for the celebrations to be cut short, and Bayern held on even after Pavard was shown a second yellow for scything down Messi.

“It is clear that Kylian Mbappe can change any game,” said Nagelsmann. “This was a very important result but it is just the first step.”

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LENS: Paris Saint-Germain, without World Cup winner Lionel Messi and Neymar, lost for the first time in any competition since March 20 last year when they were defeated 3-1 at Lens on Sunday.

“Lens deserved their win,” said PSG coach Christophe Galtier.

Lois Openda scored one and set up another as Lens, who have only lost once in Ligue 1 this season, closed the gap on PSG at the top to four points after 17 rounds.

“We are happy to be four points behind,” said Lens coach Franck Haise. “This victory proves that we can beat anyone in this championship.”

PSG’s last loss was more than nine months ago when they fell 3-0 at Monaco in Ligue 1, although that still left them 12 points clear at the top of the table.

On Sunday at Lens, PSG were without Messi and suspended Brazilian Neymar, but Kylian Mbappe, the Golden Boot winner in Qatar, received a rousing welcome from the Lens fans as he warmed up.

Galtier said he hoped French fans would give Messi a similar reception.

“He’s going to join us on January 3, in 48 hours,” said Galtier. “I hope Leo will be well received. He won the most beautiful trophy by being very good. We know he’s a great and decisive player so we hope he’ll be well received obviously.”

“Kylian worked had,” said Galtier. “He showed a very good attitude.”

“Leo and ‘Ney’ were not there but that is no excuse.”

Lens took the lead after five minutes when PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma blocked an effort from Massadio Haidara to Przemyslaw Frankowski who scored.

Hugo Ekitike replied three minutes later, swinging hard as Brice Samba dived to gather a cross and driving the ball through the Lens goalkeeper’s grasp.

Lens took control after 28 minutes. Seko Fofana won possession on the edge of his own box, drove through a couple of challenges then measured a pass between the PSG central defenders to Openda. The Belgium sprinted clear, and squeezed a shot under Donnarumma.

Lens pressed from the start of the second half and in the 48th minute won possession deep in the PSG half.

The ball reached Openda in the box, his backheel left the defence flat-footed and allowed Alexis Claude Maurice to take a touch and score from close range.

Celebration Week

The French league normally takes the holiday season off but with matches to make up following the World Cup, it played one round immediately after Christmas and another on Sunday and Monday.

They have dubbed the games ‘Celebration Week’, in English, as a nod to the English tradition of Boxing Day games, but many fans are suspicious or hostile.

Among protest banners unfurled by fans in an almost empty stand at Nantes, where the home team beat Auxerre 1-0, was one that complained that the league and broadcasters were “killing” them.

In Monaco, Aleksandr Golovin smashed in the only goal from outside the penalty area as the home team did just enough to beat Brest 1-0 and tighten their grip on fourth place.

Angers remain anchored to the bottom after suffering a ninth straight loss, falling 2-1 to visiting Lorient who broke their own run of six games without a victory.

The home team’s Moroccan World Cup stars Sofiane Boufal and Azzedine Ounahi, who have just returned from vacation and reportedly been promised lucrative transfers, were honoured before the match but did not appear.

“I was happy to see Sofiane and Azzedine,” said Angers coach Abdel Bouhazama. “For the moment they are here. For the rest, I leave that to the club directors. I take care of what happens on the pitch.”

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LISBON: Paris Saint-Germain were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw away to Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday despite Lionel Messi’s brilliant curling strike.

The Argentina star scored midway through the first half in Lisbon but Danilo Pereira’s own goal before the break ensured PSG and Benfica remain level at the top of Group H on seven points.

Both clubs failed to win for just the second time this season in all competitions but are four points clear of Juventus, who bounced back from successive defeats to beat Maccabi Haifa 3-1 at home.

“We know it’s difficult to play at this ground, with this atmosphere. Benfica are a team in form,” PSG captain Marquinhos told Canal Plus.

Messi only scored 11 goals in 34 games in his first season for PSG last term, but already has eight in 13 this time around.

“It’s normal, it takes a little time,” said Marquinhos. “Now he feels a little more comfortable… I hope Leo Messi has a great season until the end to win this title.”

Sitting top of the Portuguese league despite dropping their first points at the weekend, Benfica’s high pressing rattled PSG as the hosts made a bright start.

Goncalo Ramos, who drew interest in the summer from PSG, saw his effort blocked by Gianluigi Donnarumma’s leg after he raced onto a long ball in behind the defence.

Ramos then stung the palms of Donnarumma from distance before the Italy goalkeeper produced a terrific save to deflect David Neres’ shot wide.

But PSG’s vaunted three-man attack of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe suddenly sparked into life and the visitors surged ahead as the Argentine finished the move he started in style.

Messi’s pass to Mbappe was helped on to Neymar, whose smart lay-off was whipped into the far top corner first-time by Messi for his 127th Champions League goal.

Donnarumma again intervened to deny Benfica by parrying Antonio Silva’s strike to safety, but the hosts got the equaliser their play deserved just before half-time.

Enzo Fernandez was afforded far too much space to swing in a teasing cross from the left that Danilo inadvertently glanced in as he tried to track Ramos.

Neymar twice went close to restoring PSG’s lead early in the second half, clipping the bar with an inventive overhead kick and forcing Odysseas Vlachodimos to punch away his free-kick.

Achraf Hakimi could only drill straight at the Benfica ‘keeper after being played in by Messi, while Benfica defender Nicolas Otamendi glanced a free-kick just past the post at the other end.

Both sides continued to create chances. Mbappe’s curling shot was turned behind by a sprawling Vlachodimos, with Donnarumma spreading himself to thwart Rafa Silva after a marauding run.

But there was ultimately nothing to separate two sides who are unbeaten this season, and will meet again in six days’ time at the Parc des Princes.

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