The Paris SG beat bottom club Angers 2-0 on Wednesday during matchday 18 of Ligue 1, in which Lionel Messi scored on his return to the pitch after the victorious final of the World Cup with Argentina.
Hugo Ekitike opened the scoring in the first minutes of the match (5) and Messiin his first match since the final of the World Cup on December 18, doubled the lead on the score (72).
The Argentinian, who enjoyed holidays after his victory in the World Cup in Qatarwas owner together to the Brazilian Neymar Jr, while Kylian Mbappé He did not enter the call, after a period of rest.
“I am very satisfied that we have found ourselves with the victory, satisfied with the behavior of the team”, the Paris SG coach Christophe Galtier was happy to the microphones of Canal+ Sport 360. “The players have done their job, it is a good party and a good night”.
This victory also gives the Parisians a cushion of six points, after Lens (2nd) drew 2-2 in Strasbourg (19th).
“Eternal” Pele
In the first game of the year in the Parque de los Príncipes, the parisians took to the field to carry out the warm-up exercises with a tribute shirt to the ‘King’ Pele, fpassed away on December 29.
“Eterno rei” was read on a white T-shirt under the Brazilian’s face, surrounded by the yellow and green colors of the Brazilian flag. This gesture was accompanied by a minute of applause, with an image of Skin on the stadium screens before the start of the match.
Behind the initial whistle, the objective was to forget the defeat last day in Lens (3-1) with a victory to recover the overwhelming rhythm that the Parisians impose each season in the French championship.
A even though the Angers He had occasions to make the Parisians nervous, they solved the task and made sure they finished the first round as leaders, before the decisive second half of the season.
Monaco and Rennes stumble
The Parisians also have the peace of mind that, in addition to Lens, Rennes (4th) and Monaco (5th) also stumbled.
The Bretons (4th) lost 2-1 in Clermont (10th), in a game in which they also suffered two expulsions. The Monegasques, for their part, managed to salvage a 2-2 draw in the final minutes against Lorient (6th), thanks to a late goal from Wissam Ben Yedder (90+3).
Marseille did take advantage of their visit to Troyes (13th) to establish itself on the podium with a 2-0 victory and is now only two points from second position, synonymous with direct qualification to the Champions League.
“I am satisfied not only with the result but also with the game we played”, analyzed the Marseille coach Igor Tudor. “We have been a serious team that knew what to do on the pitch.”
Lille (7th) and Lyon (8th) did not go beyond a 0-0 draw on their visits to Brest (17th) and Nantes (14th) respectively. There was more action in the wins of Toulouse (12th) 5-0 in Auxerre (18th) and Nice (10th) 6-1 receiving Montpellier (15th).
