Lionel Messi produced another footballing masterclass to lead PSG past Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League while Juventus exited the competition after another bad loss to Benfica.
Messi scored and assisted twice with Kylian Mbappe (2), Neymar and Carlos Soler also notching goals during the 7-2 win in Paris.
The Argentine got the ball rolling in the 19th minute with an outside-of-the-boot finish before Mbappe found the same corner in the 32nd minute. Neymar seemingly put the game away in the 35th with a nifty finish before a defensive lapse allowed the visitors to score their first through Abdoulaye Seck.
Their hope of a miraculous comeback was dented just before halftime as Messi produced a vintage curler into the far post to restore their advantage.
PSG were on the back foot to start the second period with Abdoulaye Seck taking advantage to score his second goal of the game only for Mbappe to once again rule out a comeback with his second goal.
Sean Goldberg then scored an own goal before Carlos Soler completed the rout in the 84th minute with Messi’s second assist of the game.
Meanwhile, Benfica managed to beat Juventus 4-3 in Portugal to eliminate them from contention for the knockout phase.
Antonio Silva, Joao Mario and Rafa Silva (2) were on the scoreboard for the home side while Moise Kean, Arkadiusz Milik and Weston McKennie mounted a late comeback bid which fell short for Juve in what has been a disappointing campaign.
PSG leads the Champions League group H after their win over Maccabi Haifa tied on points with Benfica (11) but ahead on goal difference.
Juventus and Haifa, who famously beat the Italians this season, are still in contention for Europa League places and face PSG and Benfica respectively on the final matchday next.
