Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Lionel Messi can thank Kylian Mbappe, who helped them secure a well-deserved late win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Earlier, Messi missed a penalty for the hosts at the Parc des Princes, but the Argentine will feel relieved at the full-time whistle thanks to his teammate Mbappe.
Ever since the referee's whistle to mark the beginning of proceedings in front of a raucous crowd in Paris, PSG dominated the game. Mauricio Pochettino's men enjoyed the lion's share of possession and forced Real Madrid on the back foot.
Mbappe, in particular, looked menacing on the left flank and persistently troubled Dani Carvajal, with full-back Nuno Mendes also providing the attacking impetus for PSG. But for all their dominance, the Ligue 1 giants were unable to break the deadlock before the half-time interval.
Lionel Messi could not get the better of Thibaut Courtois after PSG were handed a lifeline
Shortly after the restart, PSG were handed a golden opportunity to finally open the scoring in the 62nd minute. Carvajal brought down Mbappe inside the penalty area and was correctly penalized for the foul.
Lionel Messi stepped up to try and convert the spot-kick, but failed to do so. Real Madrid custodian Thibaut Courtois guessed the right way and made an excellent save to his right before being hugged by his teammates. Lionel Messi cut a dejected figure and it seemed as if his miss would prove costly for PSG.
However, Mbappe then produced a breath-taking individual display to ensure PSG earned an advantage over Real Madrid at the end of the first leg round of 16 clash. Latching on to a backheel from second-half substitute Neymar, Mbappe drifted into the penalty area and beat two Real Madrid defenders before firing his shot into the back of the net.
The PSG players wheeled away in celebration and swarmed Mbappe as the crowd broke into a delirium of noise. In the wake of the Frenchman outperforming Lionel Messi once again, several reactions surfaced on Twitter. On that note, here are some of the best tweets from the game:
Amhar_MN
164
99% of those who blame Messi for yesterday's match didn't watch the match.... He had an impressive game except that penalty miss
putbcdpstz
101
Messi performance was excellent but the things is he missed penalty.
Alam-ManU-7
98
I don't think messi performed very bad, He played really well.. 100 touch,, 4 key pass, 5 dribble,,help team to dominate .. not easy for everyone
yadcdkpstu
64
I don’t really get this. He’s the best in the world Simply because he scored last minute goal. Bernardo Silva and Rahim Sterling all scored today but no one is talking about them.
villainsNeverDie
44
Technically he didn't miss...courtois saved it
Dacclopyz
35
How old is Mbappe and how old is Messi if Messi was his age then there would be no competition the guy is old so how can you expect him to be the same Messi lol in his prime he was a monster that nobody could stop so stop comparing a brilliant youngster to and old guy
DanielObioh
30
Everyone talking about Mbappe and Messi having a great Game forgetting this Midfield Maestro this guy had a great Game dominating all of Real Madrid Midfield u hardly see pple dominanting Madrid Midfield..Even Man city cudnt do it..bet me If Mbappe didn't score that Goal Marco Veratti would have won the MOTM award... Good Game Marco🔥🔥keep it up no wonder Pep Admires You 🤺🔥🦅
madrista_13_ucl
25
MBAPPE TO MADRID FANS
Thaj
25
99% of those who blame Messi for yesterday's match didn't watch the match.... He had an impressive game except that penalty miss
What is the essence of writing full pages in exam without a correct answer 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
XavierDery
21
I don’t really get it why it’s difficult for us to honour old times and give credits to new ones. Ronaldo is nearly 40 (37 years) Messi in June will be 5 years to being 40 (34+ years). No matter how you love or hate them, you can’t deny the fact that they’re putting in their best while still old. Look at Rashford he plays as if there’s nothing at stake same thing as Neymar. The future of Football rest on the shoulders of: Mbappe Foden Vinicius Gavi Saka Haaland Musiala Antony Luis Diaz Joa Felix and a whole more young guys. Ronaldo and Messi but not be put up with so many expectations. They’re old and sluggish. Respect and wish both could play forever but that’s not possible. Let’s embrace the present and the future.
fizzbizzie
15
they said he was saving his best for champions league and now they will say he is saving his best for 6igue 1.. excusessi fans are running out of excuses for their ghost of eiffel towers ))
HDavies
9
And u are educated? u just reply under every comment "you are uneducated". Ok then? educate them. what do u want to say? 😂
Thank you now let me educate your dammbass 99% of people who watched the match and are real football fans know that Messi wasn’t influential. Missing a crucial penalty. He has been the most useless psg player this season instead of him they should have been playing icardi who I believe would have scored more than 7 goals in the number of games Messi has played. No you are educated. Don’t be selfish educate the people around you too 😂😂😂