France’s football champions Paris Saint-Germain celebrated a 2-0 (1-0) home win against Angers at the bottom in the 18th round of Ligue 1 on Wednesday evening. Argentinian world champion Lionel Messi made his first appearance since winning the title in Qatar, starting and writing as the newly crowned champion.
After Argentina’s world championship triumph in mid-December, Messi received special leave from his club coach Christophe Galtier and therefore only has one week of training in Paris. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old played through and initiated the early lead with a pass to Nordi Mukiele, who served Hugo Ekitike. The 20-year-old completed from close range (5th).
In the second half, the world champion made it 2-0 with his eighth goal of the season (72nd) after a nice combination from close range. A goal by Neymar, who played after serving a yellow-red suspension, later did not count because of offside (83′).
The Parisians extended their lead to six points in the Ligue 1 table, as second-placed Lens played only 2-2 (2-2) with ÖFB legionnaire Kevin Danso in Strasbourg. Champions PSG had previously lost 3-1 to RC Lens at the start of the year without Messi and Neymar, briefly losing some of their lead.
Memory of Pele
Before kick-off, Messi, Neymar and their team-mates presented t-shirts with the portrait of the recently deceased Brazilian legend Pele and the words “Eterno rei” (Eternal King).
PSG declined to give a special tribute to Messi, who guided Argentina to victory over France in Qatar’s World Cup final. His PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, who lost in the final, had already played for the Parisians but is currently on special leave himself.
