Paris Saint-Germain survived a couple of scares against a fearless Maccabi Haifa side to win an enthralling encounter 7-2 in Group H and progress to the Champions League knockout stages at the Parc des Princes.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both ended the game with braces to their name alongside strikes from Neymar, Carlos Soler and a Sean Goldberg own goal, but Abdoulaye Seck would hit two memorable goals of his own during a marvellous attacking spectacle.
Following a brief delay in the first couple of minutes due to flares being let off from the away end, PSG were unsurprisingly on the front foot early doors, but Fabian Ruiz missed the first meaningful chance of the game as he dragged an effort into the side netting.
An energetic Maccabi Haifa side nevertheless pressed high in a bid to trouble the four-man PSG backline, but the Ligue 1 champions soon got the opening goal they craved, and it was a special one too.
The Israeli visitors failed to clear their lines as the ball fell to Mbappe, who managed to lay off Messi on the left-hand side of the box before being brought down, and the Argentine delightfully finished with the outside of his left boot for his 10th goal in nine games.
Just after the half-hour mark, Christophe Galtier's side would double their lead in equally stunning fashion, as Neymar and Mbappe combined a few times before the latter curled home a sumptuous strike into the far corner from the left-hand side of the box.
This guy makes it look so easy!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 25, 2022
Lionel Messi gets his third #UCL goal of the season with this casual outside-of-the-boot finish... 💫 pic.twitter.com/5ExFUrsSVy
After watching Messi and Mbappe get their names on the scoresheet, Neymar wanted some of the action not long after, and the Brazilian put PSG three goals to the good with his own curling effort off the post after a fast-paced counter-attack.
However, Barak Bakhar's side did not allow their heads to drop and scored the fourth goal of a frenetic first half through defender Seck, who powered home a header through an Omer Atzili free-kick to offer Maccabi Haifa a glimpse of an improbable fightback.
No sooner had the visitors given themselves a slice of hope before a clinical PSG added a fourth goal to their name just before the break, and Messi doubled his tally for the night after cutting onto his left foot and finding the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
While PSG's attackers were on song at the Parc des Princes, their defenders were not, as Maccabi Haifa reduced the deficit again in the 50th minute – Seck on hand to head home past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The Israeli champions were enjoying the better of the second period, but they were stung twice in a matter of minutes by PSG after the hour mark, as Mbappe picked out the top corner for his second before Goldberg diverted Neymar's cross into his own net.
The woodwork then denied Mbappe his hat-trick as a spectacular game entered its final 15 minutes, but PSG would find their seventh through substitute Soler, who fired home his first Parisiens goal into the bottom corner in the 87th minute.
An unforgettable match at the Parc des Princes sealed PSG's place in the last 16 before they host Juventus on the final matchday aiming to claim first place, while Maccabi Haifa remain level on points with the Old Lady and could still usurp them into the Europa League spot with a positive result at home to Benfica.
Ben Knapton
