Kylian Mbappe produced a magnificent individual display as he and Lionel Messi both scored twice to steer Paris Saint-Germain to a crushing 4-1 win over Club Brugge at the Parc des Princes.
The 22-year-old Mbappe netted the opener with less than two minutes played before adding to his tally with a thumping volley just five minutes later as PSG came out of the blocks flying.
Mbappe added an assist later in the first half, nutmegging his marker on the left flank before switching the play to Messi in the centre and the Ballon d’Or winner lashed home from the edge of the box.
The visitors scored a consolation through Mats Rits in the 68th minute, but PSG regained their three-goal advantage just eight minutes after conceding as Messi rifled home a penalty.
PSG wasted no time in opening the scoring, with Mbappe curling in off the right post after Simon Mignolet failed to deal with Nuno Mendes’ left-wing cross, parrying it back into a dangerous area.
Mbappe struck again in just the seventh minute with an emphatic volley after a delightful dink over the Club Brugge defence by Angel Di Maria.
The French striker turned provider in the 38th minute, bursting away down the wing before finding Messi, who curled a fantastic strike inside the left post from just outside the area to make it a 3-0 lead.
Club Brugge pulled one back midway through the second half as Noa Lang darted into space from the left and squared to Rits, who curled a low effort into the bottom-left corner despite a touch from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
However, Messi drew a foul from substitute Ignace Van der Brempt in the area and stepped up to drill a superb penalty into the bottom-right corner that left Mignolet rooted to the spot and rounded off the scoring.
What does it mean? Club Brugge drop out of Europe
Club Brugge needed to better RB Leipzig’s result against Manchester City in order to finish third in the group and remain in European competition, but the Belgian outfit finish bottom of Group A following the 4-1 defeat.
Even a victory over PSG would not have sufficed, however, due to Leipzig’s shock 2-1 win over City in Germany.
Mbappe races to Champions League milestone
Mbappe’s opening goal was his 30th in the Champions League. At 22 years and 352 days old, the Frenchman is the youngest player to reach the milestone in the competition’s history.
Additionally, his double after just six minutes and 23 seconds is the second-fastest by a player from the start of a Champions League match, behind only Rodrygo for Real Madrid against Galatasary in November 2019 (six minutes and 13 seconds).
Club Brugge bag unwanted record
Their heavy defeat in Paris means Club Brugge have become the first side to ever concede at least four goals in four consecutive Champions League games.
They were beaten 5-1 and 4-1 by City and 5-0 by Leipzig in their previous three outings in the competition.
What’s next?
PSG’s next task is to host Monaco in Ligue 1 on Sunday, while Club Brugge host Zulte Waregem on the same day in the Belgian Pro League.
