LIONEL MESSI SCORED twice and Kylian Mbappe played a starring role but later missed a penalty as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Mbappe had given PSG the lead at the Parc des Princes but a Leipzig side beaten 6-3 at Manchester City earlier in the competition did not crumble in the French capital.
Instead goals from Andre Silva and Nordi Mukiele had them in front, and at that point PSG looked as if they might pay the price for another occasionally disjointed display.
However, they were rescued by Mbappe and Messi. The Argentinian was set up by the France star for the equaliser and then coolly chipped in a 74th-minute penalty awarded for a foul on Mbappe.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team, who also saw Mbappe miss from the spot in injury time, are now top of Group A at the halfway stage, a point above City, who won 5-1 at Club Brugge earlier.
Leipzig, beaten by PSG in the semi-finals in 2020, are bottom without a point to their name.
For PSG the win was achieved without Neymar, sidelined by an adductor muscle injury.
Messi and Mbappe were joined in the Paris attack by Julian Draxler, making a rare start with Angel di Maria suspended and Mauro Icardi missing for family reasons amid reports of relationship troubles with his wife Wanda Nara, who is also his agent and an Instagram celebrity.
Real Madrid thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0 as Karim Benzema scored on the eve of his trial in France on charges of complicity in blackmail.
A first-half own goal from Serhiy Kryvtsov put Real on their way before Vinicius Junior scored two superb goals before setting up Rodrygo for the fourth.
Benzema added the fifth in injury time in a game played in Kiev.
The French international striker goes on trial in France on Wednesday with four other men accused of complicity in the attempted blackmail of his former international teammate Mathieu Valbuena in a case known as the “sextape affair”.
It is not known if Benzema will be present for the start of the trial.
It was a welcome win for Real, the 13-time European champions, after they slipped to an embarrassing home defeat to Moldovan minnows Sheriff Tiraspol in their last match.
Sheriff lost 3-1 to Inter Milan on Tuesday but Real are still second to them in Group D with both clubs on six points.
Sebastien Haller scored his sixth Champions League goal in three games as Ajax took firm control of their group with a ruthless display at home as they routed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 on Tuesday.
Ajax are on course for the last 16 with three wins out of three European games and Haller remains the competition’s top scorer after netting their fourth goal of the night with a crisp header.
The Ivory Coast forward scored four goals against Sporting Lisbon on his stunning Champions League debut last month, then also hit the net against Besiktas.
The result sees the Dutch champions top Group C, three points ahead of Dortmund as both clubs came into the tie with two straight wins.
Ajax dominated in Amsterdam thanks to an own goal by Dortmund captain Marco Reus and a superb strike by Daley Blind, which made it 2-0 at half-time.
Ajax’s Brazil winger Antony grabbed the hosts’ third by curling his shot into the corner before Haller’s header underlined Dortmund’s demolition.
The German club rarely got out of their half despite efforts to get the ball to their towering striker Erling Braut Haaland.
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