PARIS — With Neymar and Edinson Cavani fluffing their chances, unheralded left back Layvin Kurzawa starred with a second-half hat trick as Paris Saint-Germain routed Anderlecht 5-0 to reach the Champions League knockout stage on Tuesday. Although Neymar scored a fine goal to put PSG 2-0 up just before halftime, the Brazil forward was otherwise largely erratic against a weak side that had lost the corresponding match 4-0 at home. “This hat trick gives me a huge amount of pleasure; it’s the first of my professional career,” Kurzawa said. Neymar, after fluffing his earlier shots, made it 2-0 deep into first-half stoppage time with a fine strike from the edge of the penalty area. Kurzawa again showed a forward’s instincts, flinging himself to head home after Alves had volleyed Neymar’s long pass back across the area.

Source: National Post October 31, 2017 21:58 UTC