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Mbappé’s PSG hammer Barca

Published:Wednesday | February 17, 2021 | 5:05 AM
PSG’s Kylian Mbappe (centre) fights for the ball with Barcelona’s Oscar Mingueza (right) during the Champions League round of 16, first-leg match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday. PSG w
AP
PSG’s Kylian Mbappe (centre) fights for the ball with Barcelona’s Oscar Mingueza (right) during the Champions League round of 16, first-leg match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday. PSG won 4-1.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP):

Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to rout Barcelona 4-1 in the first leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League yesterday.

Lionel Messi put Barcelona in front by converting a first-half penalty but Mbappé led PSG’s comeback in the absence of the injured Neymar. In the teams’ first meeting since Barcelona’s memorable 6-1 victory to reverse a 4-0 loss at the same stage nearly four years ago, PSG again built a big first-leg advantage.

Mbappé scored five minutes after Messi’s opener and added two second-half goals for his hat-trick.

Moise Kean also scored in the second half for PSG, last season’s finalists, who looked far more dangerous than the hosts throughout the match at the empty Camp Nou Stadium.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane pounced on defensive mistakes to score Liverpool’s goals in a 2-0 win over Leipzig, giving the six-time European champions some respite amid an alarming slump in form domestically.

The Champions League is the only trophy Liverpool can win this season after dropping out of the Premier League title race unexpectedly early, and Jurgen Klopp’s side are already in sight of the quarter-finals after being given a helping hand from Leipzig.

Salah latched on to a misplaced pass from Marcel Sabitzer back to defender Lukas Klostermann in the 53rd minute, raced into the area and slotted his finish past former Liverpool goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.

Only five minutes later, a long ball forward was misjudged by Leipzig defender Nordi Mukiele, allowing Mane to run clean through and dispatch a similarly sharp effort beyond Gulacsi.

The first leg of the teams’ last-16 match was played at the Puskás Aréna in Hungary because of German restrictions on arrivals from Britain amid the pandemic. Aside from their two-goal advantage, Liverpool will have the added benefit of playing the second leg on March 10 at their home stadium, Anfield, albeit without fans allowed.