Kylian Mbappé outplayed Lionel Messi as Paris Saint-Germain put Barcelona up against the ropes in the Champions League again.
And with Mbappé in that kind of form, it’s hard to see Barcelona staging another epic comeback this time.
After Messi put Barcelona ahead from the penalty spot, Mbappé netted a hat trick at the Camp Nou on Tuesday to give PSG a 4-1 win in the first leg of their round-of-16 matchup.
It was the team’s first meeting since Barcelona erased a 4-0 deficit by winning the second leg 6-1 at the same stage of the competition four years ago. But Ronald Koeman’s team was thoroughly outplayed at home, even with PSG missing Brazil star Neymar, and now has to attempt a comeback in Paris instead.
“It was a very important match for us,” Mbappé said.
“We wanted to come here and win. We did that in style. Tonight was magnificent, but we haven’t won anything yet.”
Mbappé scored five minutes after Messi’s opener and added two second-half goals to become the first player to score an away hat-trick at the Camp Nou in the Champions League since Andriy Shevchenko for Dynamo Kyiv in a 4-0 win in 1997.
His dominance was epitomized by the image of Gerard Pique — making his return from a long-term injury layoff — pulling at Mbappé’s shirt in an unsuccessful attempt at slowing down the France star as he rushed forward in attack.
“There’s no doubt that Kylian is one of the best players in the world, despite his young age,” said PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino, who was in charge of his first Champions League game with the French club, having led Tottenham to the final two years ago.
“He’s already done extraordinary things. But we have to stay humble.”
Moise Kean also scored in the second half for PSG, last season’s finalist which looked far more dangerous than the hosts throughout the match at the empty Camp Nou.
The second leg will be on March 10 in Paris.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s very difficult to come back from a 4-1 first-leg loss at home,” Koeman said.