Galatasaray’s Colombian forward Radamel Falcao (left) vies with Paris Saint-Germain’s Belgian defender Thomas Meunier during the UEFA Champions League football match at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi in Istanbul yesterday.
ISTANBUL: Mauro Icardi scored the only goal in Istanbul as Paris Saint-Germain earned a narrow Champions League group stage win over Galatasaray yesterday.
The Argentine applied the finishing touch to an incisive passing move as Les Parisiens maintained their 100 per cent record in Europe this season.
Earlier in Madrid, Real Madrid rallied from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 home draw against Club Brugge, avoiding a second consecutive loss in the Champions League.
Young Nigerian forward Emmanuel Bonaventure scored two first-half goals for the Belgian club but Madrid recovered with headers by Sergio Ramos in the 55th and Casemiro in the 85th.
Casemiro’s header came from a free kick straight after Brugge went down to 10 men as captain Ruud Vormer was sent off for a second yellow card.
Madrid, which lost 3-0 at PSG in the first round, hasn’t failed to advance past the group stage since the 1989-90 season.
The result kept Madrid from losing a third straight Champions League game at home. It lost to CSKA Moscow in the group stage last season, then to Ajax as it was eliminated in the round of 16.
Bonaventure’s first goal and Ramos’ score for Madrid were confirmed by video review after being initially disallowed for offside.
After his second goal, Bonaventure imitated the traditional celebration of former Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, jumping and opening his arms as he fell back to the ground.
Brugge struck first as Bonaventure scored from close range after a fast breakaway in the ninth minute, finding the net with a fortuitous shot that sent Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois the wrong way. Bonaventure tried to control the ball with his right foot but it ended up ricocheting off his left leg before trickling past a fallen Courtois across the line.
Madrid pressed forward but Brugge kept threatening on counterattacks and Bonaventure added to the lead after a great run that started with a mistake by Luka Modric in the midfield. The 21-year-old forward stumbled at the end of the run but still found a way to send a shot over Courtois.
One of Madrid’s best chances was a close-range header by defender Raphael Varane that forced Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to make a terrific reflex save when the score was 1-0. Mignolet also made some good saves in the second half but couldn’t stop the headers by Ramos - who was back in the squad after a suspension - and Casemiro. Madrid kept attacking throughout the second half, finishing with 27 total shots.
Coach Zinedine Zidane made a surprising goalkeeping change at halftime, replacing Courtois - who had been jeered by part of the Bernabéu crowd - with Alphonse Areola. Zidane also brought in veteran defender Marcelo to replace Nacho Fernández.
In his first action early in the second half, Areola made a great save to keep Bonaventure from adding his third goal after another fast counterattack.
In London, Bayern Munich hammered Tottenham 7-2 in their Champions League group-stage game as Serge Gnabry ran riot with four second-half goals.
It was the first time last season’s runners-up Spurs had conceded seven goals at home in their history and the victory put German champions Bayern in total control of Group B.
