PSG opened their account in the Champions League after defeating Manchester City 2 – 0 at Parc des Princes.
While Lionel Messi might have grabbed the headlines for his winner, also his first goal in the Paris Saint-Germain shirt, Marco Verratti was the underrated player of Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
The Italian midfielder returned to the line-up for the first time in Champions League this season after recovering from fitness issues.
From winning possession to spreading pinpoint long balls, Verratti hardly put a foot wrong throughout the entire game.
The Italian is coming off an impressive European Championship campaign, where he led the Azzurri to the title.
Against a dominant side like Man City, he had another opportunity to prove he is among the best central midfielders in the world at the moment.
PSG suffered a lot against Club Brugge’s high pressing in their Champions League opener. Although City intended to do a similar thing last night, Les Parisiens had the best press resistant phenomenon in Verratti.
The 28-year-old’s immaculate display has even left City manager Guardiola in awe.
The Spanish gaffer heaped praises on Verratti’s performance, claiming the Italian was brilliant under pressure.
Guardiola said (h/t Goal.com): “I’m in love with him. He is exceptional. Even under pressure, he manages to find those passes that allow the midfield to be free.
“He’s not a player for long passes but you can always count on him to build the game. We managed to control him better in the second half but in the first half he was really exceptional.”
