DECRYPTION – If the Parisian victory against Manchester City is above all collective, the “Pulga” took the opportunity to score their first goal with PSG. Event.
At last ! This is undoubtedly the first word that came to the mind of Lionel Messi when he found the net on Tuesday, on the occasion of the Parisian success against Manchester City (2-0), on behalf of the second day of the Champions League group stage. Between a late arrival in the capital, its participation in the Copa America and passage to the infirmary after a blow received to the knee against Lyon (2-1), the “Pulga” played only its fourth match in Red and Blue, his second at the Parc des Princes.
But he probably had to find the time long, he who put on goals like pearls during his Barcelona era. And in the 74th minute, after a discreet match in a personal capacity, Messi broke the lock, set the stadium on fire and killed the suspense. A sublime strike, while touching, “messiah” one might say, after a heel delight from Kylian Mbappé. “It’s true that I couldn’t wait to score», Confessed the 34-year-old Argentinian superstar, on Canal+, noting that “the important thing is to have won against a huge opponent, one of the candidates for final victory. It was necessary to win to erase what happened in Bruges (1-1).»
Messi released
Bruges was Messi’s first tenure under his new colors. A frustrating match for Paris, jostled by the Belgian champions, and for the number 30, who touched wood, as against Lyon (2-1), this famous match in which he had marked his dissatisfaction at the time of his replacement , igniting the international media, and in particular the Spanish newspapers.
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This time, it was time for the release for Messi and a whole stadium, after a generally successful performance on the collective level. Of course, we will especially remember the Herculean performance of the Gueye-Verratti tandem in the midfield, the multiple stops by Gianluigi Donnarumma for his first appearance in C1 or even the performance of Marquinhos boss. Beyond the criticisms and doubts that their association can inspire, the stars of the “MNM” have also shown that they can and want to play together, all three and with the rest of the team. Mbappé, Messi and Neymar, arm in arm, have also supported their budding complicity with a cliché that ignited the web Tuesday night … In the end, it is a collective victory above all. “In a team sport, victories are necessarily collective», Insists Pochettino, delighted to note that his team«knew how to suffer when it was necessary»Facing the Skyblues.
But Messi’s first goal at Paris-SG is necessarily an event in itself. An event for the main concerned, which ended a series of 263 minutes without a goal, the third longest of his illustrious career (298 minutes in 2005-06, 288 in 2019-20, Editor’s note). An event for the club too, the whole football planet in fact. His 121st in the Champions League. One had only to see Mauricio Pochettino, usually not very demonstrative about the goals of his team, ignite on his bench, to be convinced.
“This kind of player needs this kind of performance, to score to bond with the team. “
Mauricio Pochettino
«I saw him score as an opponent for years… It was sometimes painful. This is the first time that he has scored and that we are in the same camp, I had to celebrate it», Commented the Argentinian technician, a broad smile on his face. And to add: “This kind of player needs this kind of performance, to score to bond with the team. This is the first time he has changed clubs, after 21 years at Barça. He has spent his whole life in Barcelona… He discovers new things here. I am very happy.“Obviously, Messi too, he who”adapts and integrates little by little into the team“And feels better and better with his partners in the attack line, Neymar, whom he knows by heart for having played alongside him for four seasons at FC Barcelona, and Mbappé, whom he discovers.
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«We know that we can not control this kind of player, such talents, for 90 minutesBreathed Pep Guardiola, City coach and former mentor of Messi at Barça, in a press conference. “I wish him the best. If he’s happy in Paris, I’m happy for him», Added the 50-year-old Spanish technician about the six-time Golden Ball.
Work to be done
For the rest, there is still work to be done to transform PSG and its “MNM” into a winning machine. “Calm down tempers Messi. We won a very important match against an opponent who has played the same way for a long time, with immense players, and who has already played in the final (defeat against Chelsea last May, Editor’s note). It’s an important victory for us, but we will continue.The rest of the program is a trip to Rennes on Sunday (8:45 pm), during the ninth day of Ligue 1. The opportunity for Leo Messi and company to continue this work which should lead them, on May 28, to Saint Petersburg, where the Champions League will be played. In the meantime, the Messi machine is launched.
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