<p>Paris Saint-Germain were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw away to Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday despite Lionel Messi&rsquo;s brilliant curling strike.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Brilliant goal</h2>
<p>The Argentina star scored midway through the first half in Lisbon but Danilo Pereira&rsquo;s own goal before the break ensured PSG and Benfica remain level at the top of Group H on seven points.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Both clubs failed to win for just the second time this season in all competitions but are four points clear of Juventus, who bounced back from successive defeats to beat <strong><a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/-must-watch-mascot-kids-get-emotional-as-they-meet-their-hero-lionel-messi-23245945" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Maccabi Haifa</a></strong> 3-1 at home. &nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We know it&rsquo;s difficult to play at this ground, with this atmosphere. Benfica are a team in form,&rdquo; PSG captain Marquinhos told Canal Plus.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Messi only scored 11 goals in 34 games in his first season for PSG last term, but already has eight in 13 this time around. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s normal, it takes a little time,&rdquo; said Marquinhos. &ldquo;Now he feels more comfortable.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/big-loss-for-lionel-messi-as-he-misses-ballon-dor-cut-23240903" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Big loss for Lionel Messi as he misses Ballon d'or cut</a></strong></p>
<h2>Real win 2-1</h2>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/man-city-real-madrid-march-on-in-champions-league-psg-held-23249026" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Real Madrid</a></strong> established a stranglehold at the top of their Champions League group with a 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Carlo Ancelotti&rsquo;s reigning champions have a 100 per cent record in the competition.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever</em></span></p><p>
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The Argentina star scored midway through the first half in Lisbon but Danilo Pereira’s own goal before the break ensured PSG and Benfica remain level at the top of Group H on seven points

PSG held despite Messi’s stunner

Brilliant goal

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