On Monday, Lionel Messi hit the back of the net to silence his critics and help Paris Saint-Germain prove their quality during a match against Manchester City in a packed Parc De Princes.
This UEFA Champions League Group A match-up was a hot topic for the last few weeks and rightly so: Messi had been linked with a Manchester City since move last year, and Pep Guardiola, the City manager, was a mentor and coach of Messi. But Messi still had not scored his first goal for PSG.
Idrissa Gueye opened the scoring for PSG with a venomous strike into the upper righthand corner in the 8th minute. Kylian Mbappe sent a dangerous ball skidding across the Manchester box and Gueye took one touch to settle and made no mistake with his effort.
Manchester fought hard throughout the match but was unable to score. They had seven attempts on goal as opposed to PSG’s three — two of which were goals.
In the 73rd minute, Messi put an end to his PSG goal-drought, which had been the root of enormous internet criticism. The gripping may be unfair because most of his season has been spent on the sidelines for a variety of reasons.
Nonetheless, Messi answered his critics and ultimately silenced them in stunning fashion. The Argentinian, in typical Messi style, precisely curved the ball past Ederson from just outside the box with his golden left foot — a goal that he’s scored countless times during his days at F.C. Barcelona.
Ultimately, PSG was able to hold off Manchester’s attacking forces and finished with a 2-0 win. This win puts PSG at the top of Group A, along with Club Brugge, with 4 points. This can change rapidly, however, because there are still six matches left to play for each team in the group.
PSG are off to a dominant start in the French Ligue 1, winning all of the first eight games played. Of those games, Messi has only played two. This must be a terrifying realization for the other teams in the league. With Messi, especially after gaining momentum in yesterday’s match, PSG look unstoppable. It’s safe to say, we can dive back into the GOAT debate.
