PSG football stars stunned by FC Bruges in Champions League
FC Bruges held Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-all draw at Jan Breydel yesterday evening. The start of their Champions League campaign thus became an unexpected success, as football pundits had expected Bruges would mostly have to focus on how to 'limit the damage' against the Paris star team including Messi, Mbappé and Neymar.
It was the first time that the attacking trio played together in an important game for PSG, which are among the favourites to win the Champions League. It was also Lionel Messi's 150th Champions League match. The game enjoyed a lot of international interest and was viewed by millions of football fans across the world.
FC Bruges made good publicity for Belgian football, though it got off on the wrong foot. PSG climbed ahead when Kylian Mbappé set up Ander Herrera's goal for 0-1. It could have been 0-2, but Messi hit the bar. On the other side of the pitch, Hans Vanaken equalised shortly after when his shot was slightly deflected, still before half-time. Both teams had some opportunities, but in the end FC Bruges stunned PSG.
A joke after the match
Making a joke after the match, a journalist asked Bruges midfielder Hans Vanaken whether it was maybe Messi or another PSG player who asked him for his shirt rather than the other way 'round. However, Vanaken said this was not the case.
Club Brugge coach Philippe Clement was talking of a 'historic' result. General Manager Vincent Mannaert was proud that his team did so well before the eyes of many, and underlined that they deserved the point: "We didn't get the result by just defending. We also did our part of the attacking."
