Mauro Icardi continued his fine scoring form to send Paris Saint-Germain through to the last 16 of the Champions League with an unconvincing 1-0 home victory over Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Following a testing week in which PSG was beaten by Dijon and then saw coach Thomas Tuchel linked with Bayern Munich, Icardi's eighth goal in nine games for the club secured its progress.
Swift advancement comes as a boost to Tuchel, who insists his future lies in Paris, but this was far from a vintage performance.
The Ligue 1 champion has four wins from four in the competition this season, while it is still to concede, yet both records would have been tarnished had Keylor Navas not saved Mbaye Diagne's penalty in a particularly poor second half.
PSG scored inside seven minutes en route to a 5-0 win in Belgium a fortnight earlier but laboured early on this time around until a fortuitous bounce fell Icardi's way midway through the first half.
The on-loan striker had been a peripheral figure to that point, yet he could hardly have missed as Colin Dagba's low cross deflected through Simon Deli's legs for a simple tap-in.
The host still was not entirely convincing and would have been pegged back on 50 minutes but for Navas' reactions.
The goalkeeper scrambled to keep out an Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis effort that struck David Okereke and span towards goal, before bouncing to his feet to deny the latter again on the rebound.
Dagba struck the outside of the post as he sought to force in a strike from an improbable angle in a swift PSG riposte, but Tuchel's side stalled again and were once more grateful to Navas.
Thiago Silva was punished for a clumsy challenge on substitute Diagne, who took the spot-kick himself but sent a tame effort straight into the hands of the keeper.
What does it mean? PSG scrape through, Brugge still in it
It is job done for PSG, which is into the last 16. A draw might have been a fairer outcome, but it took its one big chance when it arrived. This game should still have buoyed Brugge, though, as it plot its own unlikely path to the next round. It will have to beat Real Madrid but has already caused a stir at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Icardi in top form
Icardi's issues at Inter have already been forgotten amid an oustanding start to life at PSG, with his tally swelling week by week. The forward's career Champions League record is similarly impressive, scoring eight times in his first 10 matches - one shy of a record held jointly by Sadio Mane, Simone Inzaghi and Harry Kane.
Kylian kept quiet
Mbappe scored a second-half hat-trick from the bench in the reverse fixture but, by his lofty standards, was extremely quiet in Paris. The World Cup winner toiled on the flank in the first period and then miscued in front of goal prior to Dagba hitting the woodwork following the restart.
Key Opta Facts
- PSG has not lost a home Champions League group-stage match since December 2004 against CSKA Moscow and is unbeaten in its last 23 matches of this kind at the Parc des Princes (W18 D5 L0).
- It has now scored in each of its last 24 group games in the Champions League, last failing to net in November 2015 (vs Real Madrid).
- Brugge has scored just two goals in its last six games in the group stage of the Champions League, failing to score in five of those matches.
- Brugge had 14 shots in the match, the most it has had in an away game in the Champions League since October 2005 (16 vs Rapid Vienna).
What's next?
PSG returns to league action at Brest on Saturday, before going to Real Madrid later this month - where Brugge will hope for a favour from Tuchel's men. In the meantime, the Belgian club is away at Royal Antwerp this weekend, visiting Galatasaray for its next European task.
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