Lionel Messi Rescues PSG As The Parisians Extend Lead At The Top

PSG

After a slow start, PSG rallied to a win with 2 goals to 1 at home on Saturday thanks in large part to a second-half goal from Lionel Messi. Their advantage at the top of the Ligue 1 standings now stands at a comparatively comfortable eight points. After halftime, Messi scored the game-winning goal, putting PSG at 54 points after playing 22 games. It also marked his 3rd goal in the previous 5 league games.

PSG Saved By The Grace Of Lionel Messi

Christophe Galtier’s PSG team had only managed to win 2 of their previous 5 Ligue 1 games. At halftime, the score was 1-1 after Achraf Hakimi had equalized Branco van den Boomen’s early goal. The loss means Toulouse is 12th on the table, with 29 points.

On Sunday, second-place Olympique de Marseille will host Nice, while RC Lens will, who presently sits 3rd, visit Stade Brestois. Marseille sits on 46 points. After injuries sidelined Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, Hugo Ekitike helped Lionel Messi from the flanks with further support from behind with Vitinha.

Galtier described Lionel Messi as the team’s engine as he created chances and scored. He said that he requests and hopes his team plays for Messi. He thinks Messi’s teammates should do more defensively so that the Argentinian will get more freedom and space to produce chances and movement.

Renato Sanches replaced the suspended Marco Verratti in midfield, but after just 12 minutes, the Portuguese had to walk off the field in tears due to an injury to his thigh. A well-placed free kick by Van den Boomen in minute 20 put Toulouse on the scoreboard as it saw Gianluigi Donnarumma rooted to the spot.

12 minutes before halftime, Marquinhos got a deflection on a Messi free kick but saw it bounce off the post. 5 minutes after that, Hakimi had better accuracy with a beautifully curled shot from beyond the penalty area. In minute 58, Messi put PSG up for good when he curled a shot beautifully from beyond the penalty area into the bottom corner. Messi nearly added a third goal during stoppage time, but he struck the post instead.