French champions Paris Saint-Germain secured a comfortable 2-0 victory against Real Sociedad at their home ground, Parc des Princes, in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.
The Spanish visitors started strong, and just 30 seconds into the game, Andre Silva unleashed a dangerous shot from outside the penalty area, narrowly missing the left post of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Seconds before the end of the regular 45 minutes, Real Sociedad came close to opening the score, as a superb strike from captain Merino outside the penalty area rebounded off the crossbar of Donnarumma.
PSG dominated the early stages of the second half and made their mark in the 58th minute. Merino cleared after a corner, but the ball reached Mbappe, who attempted a grounded shot, deflected into a new corner kick by Amari Traore. Then, Dembele delivered a cross from the new corner kick into the penalty area, where Marquinhos played with his head towards the far post. There, Mbappe was left completely unmarked, and he controlled with his right foot, leaving no chance for Remiro, making it 1-0.
Twenty minutes before the end of regular time, Bradley Barkola reassured PSG with a second goal against the Basques. Dembele held the ball well in his own half and initiated an attack, passing to Fabian Ruiz in the center. The Spaniard distributed to the left flank for the young Barkola, who advanced with speed, easily passed Traore, entered the penalty area, took the ball confidently, and with exceptional speed reached it again. Left alone against Remiro, he didn’t miss, slotting it between the goalkeeper’s legs into the far corner for a 2-0 lead.