In the evening of October 25, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Milan 3-0 in the third game of Group F of the Champions League thanks in part to a goal from forward Kylian Mbappe. PSG faced the challenge of defeating Milan after suffering a 1-4 defeat against Newcastle three weeks prior, in order to revive their hopes of securing a spot in the round of 16. However, in the early minutes of the game, Milan performed better. The seven-time Champions League winners created a series of corner kicks, and Rafael Leao came close to opening the scoring. The Portuguese star had a shot that went wide and a curling effort that Һit the post.
It wasn’t until the middle of the first half that PSG started to find their rhythm. Mbappe played a pivotal role as the focal point of the home team’s аttаck. In the 32nd minute, following a pass from Warren Zaire-Emery, the French forward made a diagonal run, evading Fikayo Tomori, and unleashed a shot into the near corner of Milan’s net. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan was caught off guard by the unexpecteԀ direction of his French national teammate’s shot.
The opening goal acted as a psychological boost for PSG, and they grew in confidence. Immediately after halftime, if not for VAR intervention, Ousmane Dembele could have scored his first goal for PSG. The referee ruled that Manuel Ugarte fouled Yunus Musah in the attacking phase, thus disallowing the goal for the former Barcelona player.
Shortly after, Milan missed an opportunity to equalize. After a long pass from goalkeeper Maignan, Christian Pulisic attempted to cross to Olivier Giroud instead of shooting himself. Soon after, in the 53rd minute, Milan paid a heavy price for their wasted chances. Kolo Muani positioned himself well to score from the rebound after Maignan parried Dembele’s angled shot, extending the lead to 2-0.
Muani scored his first-ever goal in the Champions League. The former Frankfurt striker also increased his tally for PSG to three goals in eight matches this season.
After falling behind by two goals, Milan pushed forward in search of a goal. However, on an unlucky day for them, their shots failed to produce any results. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma successfully saved a lobbed shot and a header from Giroud, and he deflected a close-range effort from Leao off the post. In the 89th minute, Milan fell into PSG’s counter-attacking trap. After a breakthrough on the right flank, Zaire-Emery delivered a cross into the penalty area for substitute Lee Kang-In, who scored a low shot to seal the 3-0 victory. With two assists in this game, Zaire-Emery received the UEFA Man of the Match award.
The emphatic win over Milan helped PSG reclaim the top spot in Group F. PSG currently has six points from three matches, leading Dortmund and Newcastle by two points, while Milan sits at the bottom with two points. In the simultaneous match, Dortmund secured a 1-0 victory away at Newcastle.
