Paris Saint-Germain finished as runners-up in Champions League Group H despite Nuno Mendes’ excellent second-half winner in Turin.
Super-sub Nuno Mendes scored the winner for Paris Saint-Germain in a 2-1 victory against Juventus, though it was not enough to clinch the top spot in Group H.
Kylian Mbappe fired home to open the scoring but his goal was canceled out by Leonardo Bonucci’s equalizer before the break in a close encounter in Turin on Wednesday.
However, PSG looked set to seal their place in the last 16 as group winners when Mendes changed the picture midway through the second half.
However, Benfica’s remarkable result against Maccabi Haifa saw the Portuguese side score the six goals they needed to level on goal difference with PSG and claim top spot on away goals.
PSG’s quality showed after 20 minutes when Mbappe latched on to Lionel Messi’s pass, brushed past Frederic Gatti and drilled home from the right-hand post for his seventh goal of the Champions League season.
Yet PSG were pegged back five minutes before the break – Bonucci sliding in to meet Juan Cuadrado’s diving header and converting from close range.
After the restart, the two teams struggled to find each other until the 69th minute, when Mbappe fired past substitute Mendes, who finished neatly past Wojciech Szczesny.
Manuel Locatelli saw a goal rightly disallowed for offside and Federico Chiesa, making his long-awaited return from injury as a substitute, had his penalty called back as Juve’s attempts at a comeback proved fruitless.
At least Juve completely saved the shame of leaving European football thanks to Benfica’s win in Israel, and the Bianconeri will be fighting for a place in the round of 16 of the Europa League in the new season.
Juventus player ratings
GK: Wojciech Szczesny (5); CB: Federico Gatti (6); CB: Leonardo Bonucci (7); CB: Alex Sandro (7); RWB: Juan Cuadrado (7); CM: Nicolo Fagioli (7); CM: Manuel Locatelli (6); CM: Adrien Rabiot (7); LWB: Filip Kostic (7); AM: Fabio Mirretti (6); ST: Arkadiusz Milik (6).
SUB: Federico Chiesa (6), Matias Soule (N/A), Enzo Barrenechea (N/A).
PSG player ratings
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma (6); RB: Achraf Hakimi (6); CB: Sergio Ramos (7); CB: Marquinhos (7); LB: Juan Bernat (6); CM: Vitinha (7); CM: Marco Verratti (7); CM: Fabian Ruiz (6); AM: Carlos Soler (6); ST: Kylian Mbappe (9); ST: Lionel Messi (8)
SUB: Renato Sanches (6), Hugo Ekitike (5), Nuno Mendes (8), Danilo Pereira (N/A).
