Kylian Mbappé scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain comfortably defeated Real Sociedad 2-1 at the Reale Arena, securing a convincing 4-1 aggregate victory in the Champions League round of 16. This marks the second consecutive year that La Real have been knocked out of the Champions League knockout stages by French opposition.
Mbappé wasted no time in making his mark on the game, setting up Bradley Barcola for a chance that was saved by Álex Remiro in the opening minutes. The French forward then took matters into his own hands, collecting a pass from Ousmane Dembélé and unleashing a powerful shot that bulged the net.
Before the half-hour mark, Mbappé nearly added another goal but was denied by Remiro’s outstretched boot. Real Sociedad struggled to create clear opportunities and their best chance of the first half fell to Takefusa Kubo, whose shot went just wide of the target.
Mbappé continued his impressive performance after the break, scoring his second goal in the 56th minute. Substitute Kang-in Lee played a clever ball behind the defense, and Mbappé finished clinically at the near post.
Ander Barrenetxea thought he had pulled a goal back for the home side, but he was ruled offside. Mikel Merino eventually got Real Sociedad on the scoresheet with a close-range effort, but it was nothing more than a consolation goal.
With this victory, PSG extend their unbeaten run to 21 games and reach the Champions League quarter-finals for only the third time in the last eight years. Real Sociedad, on the other hand, are in a slump, having won just one of their last 10 games in all competitions.
Man of the Match: Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain)
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings