Soccer Football - Champions League - Paris St Germain v Real Sociedad - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - February 14, 2024 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe shoots at goal REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
(Reuters) -Second half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola secured Paris St Germain a hard-fought 2-0 win over visitors Real Sociedad in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Wednesday.
The Basque club, who arrived at the Parc des Princes unbeaten in this year's competition after topping Group D, were arguably the better side until Mbappe fired home a volley after he pounced onto Marquinhos' corner to give PSG the lead in the 58th minute.
PSG took control of the game and in the 70th minute, Barcola extended their lead as he nudged the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper Alex Remiro.
"We struggled a lot in the first half. We spoke to each other at halftime and the coach (Luis Enrique) pulled our strings. He was really upset," PSG captain Marquinhos told Canal Plus.
"Our attitude was much better in the second half. He (Luis Enrique) always tells us the truth, and that's very important for the team.
"He gave us some advice ... and that worked well in the second half. The first part of our objective has been achieved. It's important to win at home."
PSG were lucky to go into the break with the match scoreless as Real Sociedad’s captain Mikel Merino unleashed a thunderous strike that exploded off the crossbar just before halftime.
A resilient Mbappe, who missed his club's previous match due to an ankle injury, took advantage of Real Sociedad being temporarily down to 10-men after defender Hamari Traore was on the sidelines receiving medical treatment.
Mbappe's strike into the the top corner sparked wild celebrations among the Parc des Princes crowd and the Frenchman almost extended PSG’s lead a little later but his thunderous effort was tipped away by Remiro.
Barcola extended PSG’s lead in the 70th minute with a fine individual display as he burst through from the halfway line to net a tidy finish.
PSG had more chances to score but the visitors held on and will have a tough task to fight back from two goals down in the return leg in Spain on March 5.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
