Paris Saint-Germain beat Real Sociedad 2-1 at Reale Arena to earn a convincing 4-1 aggregate victory in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) Round of 16, with La Real now being knocked out by French opposition in their last two forays into the knockout stages.
It didn’t take Les Parisiens long to go on the front foot as Kylian Mbappé glided past Hamari Traoré and teed up Bradley Barcola for an effort that was instinctively saved by Álex Remiro. PSG’s talisman then opened the scoring for the fifth time in his last six goalscoring appearances, collecting Ousmane Dembélé’s through ball and masterfully working space from Igor Zubeldia before beating Remiro with a strike so powerful it pulled some of the netting from the post.
Mbappé strikes twice to Kyl off Real’s UCL hopes
Before the half-hour mark, Mbappé got another effort off after being set up by Barcola, but was impressively denied by Remiro’s outstretched boot. Having done so well to press PSG for large periods at the Parc des Princes, La Real struggled to impose themselves on their home turf as the visitors slickly moved the ball with purpose. The hosts still had promising moments, though, with Takefusa Kubo hitting an ambitious strike that sailed past Gianluigi Donnarumma’s post shortly before the break.
PSG continued to look imperious after the restart and Mbappé made their impressive play count when he scored again in the 56th minute. HT substitute Kang-in Lee released his captain with a ball behind Zubeldia that the forward latched onto before fooling Remiro with a clinical finish at the near post. Ander Barrenetxea came agonisingly close to lifting his side after emerging from the bench, as he strayed marginally offside before heading home from Martín Zubimendi’s cross, while he then delivered a searching ball that narrowly evaded Mikel Oyarzabal.
Mikel Merino eventually got the spirited hosts on the scoresheet when his effort trickled in following Lucas Beraldo’s attempt to block it. That gave their supporters something to celebrate but proved inconsequential in the tie, as PSG went a 21st consecutive match unbeaten to progress past the UCL Round of 16 for just the third time in the last eight seasons. Real Sociedad, meanwhile, have won just one of their last 10 in a run that has seen them eliminated from the UCL and Copa del Ray while also dropping out of La Liga’s top six.
