Presnel Kimpembe: The Man who tamed Lionel Messi

Who would have ever thought the mighty Barcelona would suffer such a catastrophic disaster at the hands of French champions, Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 fixture. The French outfit put up arguably their best performance in Europe on Tuesday night. Angel Di maria and Edinson Cavani stole the spotlight with some fantastic goals, but PSG has found a new hero the 21-year old defender, Presnel Kimpembe.

Dream Debut

With captain Thiago Silva out injured, PSG turned to youngster Kimpembe to provide the necessary defensive reinforcement. The 21- year old who has made a few appearances for PSG in Ligue-1, was given his first start in the UEFA Champions League. A knockout tie in the biggest club competition in the world against the most dominant team in Europe with three of the most lethal forwards in World football, quite a daunting task for a young footballer making his debut. But Kimpembe displayed nerves of steel, putting up an assured performance at the back alongside center back partner Marquinhos. Barcelona’s front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez had no answer against the tough tackling and constant pressing from Kimpembe.

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