Paris Saint-Germain put the rest of the teams in the Champions League on notice with a 2-0 group-stage victory over Manchester City on Tuesday at the Parc des Princes.
Despite a less-than-stellar overall performance, PSG was able to put away the visiting English side thanks to an early Idrissa Gueye goal and Lionel Messi's first tally for the club. Gueye's first-half marker was an opportunistic strike while Messi's late goal was a brilliant bit of play that showed why the Ligue 1 club was so eager to bring him over from Barcelona.
Gueye got the scoring underway in the eighth minute, slamming a shot high into the upper-right corner of the City goal after pouncing on a loose ball inside the penalty area. The goal was created by a determined Kylian Mbappe run into the box, followed by a cutback that Neymar scuffed on as he tried to poke it home. The Brazilian's mis-hit actually benefitted Gueye, who was left wide open to hit an emphatic effort for the opener.
It looked like the early goal would spark a flurry of attacking play into the match, and the Sky Blues appeared eager to join in with a handful of first-half chances that were left wanting. The biggest missed opportunity came in the 26th minute as Bernardo Silva bungled from point-blank range after Raheem Sterling's header struck the woodwork. The ball fell to Silva, who lunged at the rebound and somehow knocked it against the underside of the crossbar from a yard or two out.
City would be undeterred by the unlucky finishing, controlling large stretches of play and outshooting the home side 18-6. As the minutes ticked by in the second half, the Premier League side continued to march forward.
However, Messi put the game out of reach in the 74th minute with City pressing for an equalizer. The Argentine started a counterattack and charged downfield with Achraf Hakimi sprinting for an overlapping run. Instead of giving the easy pass to Hakimi, Messi cut inside and played an incisive give-and-go at the top of the penalty area with Mbappe, who backheeled the ball back into the 34-year-old's path for a stunning strike that left City goalkeeper Ederson helpless.
At 2-0 up with a quarter of an hour left to play, the Parisians remained in a defensive posture while aiming to continue the counterattack. The game opened up slightly in the dying minutes as players tired, but both sides seemed resigned to the fact that the result was already set in stone.
After two matches, PSG now sits tied with Club Brugge atop Group A on four points while City's three points are good enough for third. RB Leipzig brings up the rear with zero points.