Video: Thibaut Courtois saves Lionel Messi's penalty in PSG-Real Madrid UCL game
Lionel Messi had a great chance to put PSG in front against Real Madrid but Thibaut Courtois denied his effort. Here, take a look at the video of the penalty kick in the UEFA Champions League game.
Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the best players on Earth, but he's not having a great season at PSG. The Argentine has struggled to play regularly and he has only scored seven goals in Paris so far - twice in Ligue 1, five times in the Champions League.
That's why all the eyes were on him ahead of the round of 16 tie against Real Madrid, with the soccer community eager to see if Messi stepped up against one of his favorite victims.
However, it's been a long time since he scored against El Merengue and he missed out on a great opportunity to end the drought. In the first leg of the UCL round of 16, Thibaut Courtois denied Messi's spot-kick.
Watch: Messi misses penalty against Real Madrid
It's not a secret that Paris Saint-Germain aim to become European champions for the first time this season. But the knockout stage brought them a challenging task from the very beginning by drawing them with Real Madrid.
After an uneventful first half, Mauricio Pochettino's men started to put the visitors' back against the wall. But Courtois has firmly stopped any effort from the hosts so far, including a penalty kick from Lionel Messi.
Martin O'Donnell is a bilingual sports writer fluent in English and Spanish, with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. Since joining Bolavip in February 2021, he has extensively covered soccer, NFL, and NBA, specializing in real-time coverage of major events such as the World Cup, UEFA Champions League finals, and the Super Bowl. Martin’s prior experience includes managing social media for the CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana in English and reporting on Brazilian football for Sambafoot. At Bolavip, he is known for his meticulous coverage during critical sports seasons—covering trades, playoffs, and finals—and for keeping a close eye on soccer icons Lionel Messi at Inter Miami and Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. His attention to detail and ability to capture breaking news have made him a valuable asset to the team.
