Thursday, October 29, 2026

PSG ready to face any team in Champions League knockout stage: Vitinha 

Vitinha says the Parisian giants can take on any team that come their way in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.

• October 26, 2022
Vítor Machado Ferreira [Photo Credit: Onze Mondial]

PSG midfielder Vítor Machado Ferreira, known as Vitinha, says the Parisian giants can take on any team that come their way in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé both scored twice with Neymar also on target as Christopher Galtier’s men ruptured Maccabi Haifa in a 7-2 win to send them into the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.

“It’s a pleasure, it’s a privilege to watch Messi, Neymar and Mbappé do things like that,” Vitinha said after the game. “It just keeps me and the fans amazed because they do what nobody else does.”

It took PSG 35 minutes to take the lead by 3-0. 

Messi expertly steered his shot inside the far post with the outside of his left foot to open the scoring for PSG in the 19th minute. Ten minutes later, Mbappé doubled the lead. It went from bad to worse when Mbappé and Messi combined to play in Neymar whose shot went in on off the post.

Former Royal Antwerp defender, Abdoulaye Seck pulled one back for the visitors through a quickly taken free kick to rekindle Maccabi’s faint hopes. Four minutes later, Messi restored PSG’s three goal lead before halftime with a sublime curling finish. Taking his Champions League total to 129, 12 behind the record of Cristiano Ronaldo.

PSG started the second half where they left it but it was the visitors who scored first. Seck rose high to looped a header over Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net to make it 4-2 and give the visiting fans something to cheer about. 

A 64-minute curler from Mbappé and an own goal from Sean Goldberg quickly gave PSG four-goal lead. Substitute, Carlos Soler then completed the damage to make it 7-2 for PSG as they marched through to the Champions League knockout stage.

Asked if there’s any team he will like to avoid in the knockout stage, Vitinha replied : “No”

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Nigerian Bar Association

States

Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future

The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

NSCDC logo

States

Suspected impersonator of NSCDC official arrested in Kano

The statement warned members of the public to be vigilant and verify the identity of anyone claiming to be an NSCDC operative.

Nigerian flag

Heading 5

Nigeria ranks 121st among 133 countries in 2026 Chandler Good Government Index

Nigeria slipped down six places from its previous 116th position in the 2025 Index to rank 121st in the newly released 2026 Index released on Thursday.

Faith

Life is battlefield not playground, Oyedepo counsels youths

The cleric said faith was a spiritual force capable of bringing divine intervention.

World

There’ll be no snap election in 2027, says Burnham

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham says there will be no early general election next year.

Health

Marwa urges women, youths to prioritise mental health

Mr Marwa urged women and young Nigerians seeking to grow their businesses and access global markets to safeguard their physical and mental health.

Africa

COP 17: African environment ministers unite to tackle eco-crisis

African environment ministers have strengthened cooperation through regional coalitions and harmonised strategies to address the continent’s ecological challenges.