French giants Paris Saint-Germain were dealt a harsh dose of reality in the wake of their 2-1 away win at Juventus’ Allianz Stadium.
Goals from star forward Kylian Mbappé -assisted by Lionel Messi – and second-half substitute Nuno Mendes sealed all three points for the Parisian outfit on either side of a Leondardo Bonucci equalizer that came in the latter stages of the first half.
Mbappé’s goal added another one to the Frenchman’s highlight reel during an impressive calendar 2022 for the 23-year-old city of lights native that saw him become the youngest player to hit the 40-goal mark in the competition.
Kylian Mbappé is the youngest player in Champions League history to score 40 goals in the competition.
Sitting down the Juventus defence. 💀#UCL pic.twitter.com/5RkGSpNALm
— Squawka (@Squawka) November 2, 2022
But just when PSG thought they did enough to secure the top spot in Group H ahead of Portuguese stalwarts SL Benfica, a goal in stoppage time from João Mario saw SLB earn a mammoth 6-1 win at Maccabi Haifa. That goal then unleashed a series of events for the first time ever in the Champions League that saw two clubs finish top of their respective group on the exact number of points as well as goals scored and goals conceded.
We could potentially see PSG face Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid or Man City in the Round of 16 😱 pic.twitter.com/JY3wgfOmMs
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 2, 2022
It would take seven tie-breakers to confirm Benfica as group winners at PSG’s expense, which sets up a difficult round of sixteen start for the Ligue 1 dynasty that will see them drawn against one of FC Porto, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Tottenham, or Chelsea, with a potential rematch of last year’s final against Madrid unquestionably providing the tie of the round and the choice of neutral fans around the globe.
As for Juventus, their horrendous group stage campaign – to which their current fitness nightmare did not help matters – was the latest in a string of frustrating moments in the last few seasons in Turin that now finds the Old Lady of Italian Football amidst a period of considerable regression under Massimiliano Allegri.
❗3 Points in 6 Champions League group stage games. This is the worst points tally ever in the History of Juventus. #juvelive pic.twitter.com/bQyzI4heRM
— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuveEN) November 2, 2022
The Italian super club will now join the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, AFC Ajax, AS Roma, and Sporting CP in a pathway to Europa League success that continues to increase in difficulty year after year.
📰 Table Of Contents
Juventus Player Ratings
GK: Wojciech Szczesny (6)
RCB: Federico Gatti (6)
CB: Leonardo Bonucci (7)
LCB: Alex Sandro (6.5)
RM: Juan Cuadrado (7)
RCM: Nicolò Fagioli (7)
CM: Manuel Locatelli (7)
LCM: Adrien Rabiot (6.5)
LM: Filip Kostić (6.5)
CAM: Fabio Miretti (6)
CF: Arkadiusz Milik (6.5)
Sub: Federico Chiesa (6)
Sub: Matìas Soulé (6)
Sub: Enzo Barrenechea (6)
Sub: Tommaso Barbieri (6)
Paris Saint-Germain Player Ratings
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma (6.5)
RB: Achraf Hakimi (6.5)
CB: Sergio Ramos (7)
CB: Marquinhos (7)
LB: Juan Bernat (6)
RCM: Marco Verratti (6.5)
CM: Fábian Ruiz (6)
LCM: Vitinha (6)
CAM: Carlos Soler (6)
RF: Lionel Messi (7)
LF: Kylian Mbappé (8.5)
Sub: Renato Sanches (6.5)
Sub: Hugo Ekitike (6)
Sub: Nuno Mendes (7.5)
Sub: Danilo Pereira (6)
Social Media
🆙👊 Our starting 1⃣1⃣ 🆚 @juventusfcen#JUVPSG I @EASPORTSFIFA pic.twitter.com/LkMBw6jvMk
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) November 2, 2022
🌍 | STARTING LINEUPS
On the final day of the 2022/23 #UCL group stage, it’s Juventus v PSG! 🤩
The hosts need to match Maccabi Haifa’s points against Benfica to reach the Europa League, while Les Parisiens need to match Benfica’s point haul to get the top spot!#JUVPSG pic.twitter.com/29sTZN7cKw
— Sofascore (@SofascoreINT) November 2, 2022
Welcome back, Fede 🤍🖤 pic.twitter.com/BtkYYbwUnN
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) November 2, 2022
ALLEGRI to @SkySport
“We need a good performance, it’s a good test for the young guys against a great team, it’s a Champions League game. We have a chance to reach the Europa League, it’s normal that there is a lot of bitterness, a lot of disappointment and a lot of anger..” pic.twitter.com/fOCz8RUSk9
— JuveFC (@juvefcdotcom) November 2, 2022
What a goal from Mbappé. Gatti was doing everything aside from rugby tackling him to take him down and still KM does this pic.twitter.com/PgSSyadGN9
— Luis Miguel Echegaray (@lmechegaray) November 2, 2022
With his assist to Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi ties Erling Haaland for the most goal contributions (25) by any player for a team in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season (all competitions).
Messi’s 14 assists provided are 3 more than any other player. pic.twitter.com/M5nZDHEsAQ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 2, 2022
⌚️ 20′ Premier changement avec l’entrée en jeu de @renatosanches35 à la place de @FabianRP52 sur blessure. #JUVPSG I 0-1 pic.twitter.com/nHNILHKlAb
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) November 2, 2022
39’ | ⚽️ | 𝙂𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙊𝘼𝘼𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇𝙇!! THE SKIPPER DRAWS US LEVEL!#JUVPSG [1-1] #UCL pic.twitter.com/LfKhIpTDaj
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) November 2, 2022
HT: Juventus 1-1 PSG
A much-improved display from Juventus, with Mbappe’s goal against the run of play, brilliant as it was.
LIVE: https://t.co/p67F3cqbeS#JUVPSG | #UCL pic.twitter.com/m99jkmjsic
— Standard Sport (@standardsport) November 2, 2022
Lionel Messi has more goal contributions than Erling Haaland this season 😳 pic.twitter.com/vX62zf3gdI
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 2, 2022
68 | GOAL: Juventus 1-2 PSG (Mendes)
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) November 2, 2022
Juventus + six-time winners Sevilla amongst those dropping into Europa League along with Barca and Ajax etc from last night. Prize for winning EL group for Arsenal and Man Utd tomorrow is big given takes them straight into last-16.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) November 2, 2022
On PSG by the way, can’t help wondering if they more than any other team will look very different once the World Cup is over
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) November 2, 2022
Paris Saint-Germain are in no mood to celebrate after beating Juventus 2-1, because they were pipped to the top of the Champions League group by Benfica after four different criteria were equal https://t.co/TZwxnCnStd #PSG #Benfica #Juventus #UCL pic.twitter.com/fFjnXoufJF
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) November 2, 2022