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 top spot in Group H.
Kylian Mbappe fired home to open the scoring but his goal was cancelled out by Leonardo Bonucci’s equaliser before the break in a tight encounter in Turin on Wednesday.
PSG looked to have secured progress to the last 16 as group winners, though, when Mendes changed the picture midway through the second half.
However, a remarkable result for Benfica against Maccabi Haifa saw the Portuguese side score the six goals they required to pull level on goal difference with PSG and snatch top spot courtesy of away goals scored.
PSG’s quality showed after 20 minutes when Mbappe latched onto Lionel Messi’s pass, nutmegged Frederico Gatti and drilled in off the right-hand post for his seventh Champions League goal of the season.
Yet PSG were pegged back five minutes before the break โ Bonucci sliding in to meet Juan Cuadrado’s diving header and convert from close range.
Chances continued to be hard to come by for both teams after the restart until the 69th minute, when Mbappe fed through substitute Mendes, who finished crisply across Wojciech Szczesny.
Manuel Locatelli saw a goal correctly disallowed for offside and Federico Chiesa โ making his long-awaited return from injury as a substitute โ had a penalty appeal waved away as Juve’s comeback attempts proved fruitless.
Juve were at least saved the embarrassment of an exit from European football entirely thanks to Benfica’s win in Israel, and the Bianconeri will fight for a place in the last 16 of the Europa League in the new year.
