If your team was missing Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, but still had Lionel Messi to decide, the world would be a better place, wouldn’t it? Imagine having so many stars available and, even on an afternoon of embezzlement, salvation comes from the third star in the crown? That’s what PSG experienced this Saturday (4), for Ligue 1. The 2-1 victory against Toulouse only happened thanks to Messi.
The encounter with the violets, however, was not the easiest. The first goal of the match was caused by a foul by El Chadaille Bitshiabu. Close to the area, Branco van den Boomen’s free-kick betrayed GianLuigi Donnarumma and curved out, falling surprisingly into the net. The coup made Toulouse gain some courage to face the Parisians inside the Parc des Princes.
Until finding the tie, through the feet of Achraf Hakimi, at 38′, PSG needed to be cold-blooded, not only to get rid of the opponents’ marking, but also to be able to create something in the attack. In addition to a goal annulled by Toulouse, due to offside. It was not one of the most favorable situations. The offensive trio, led by Messi, had Hugo Ekitike and Vitinha as companions. The bombardment featured crosses in the area, aerial balls, kicks on the crossbar, and nothing.
Hakimi believed. Carrying the ball close to the area, he decided to take a risk and sent a left-handed shot at Maxime Dupé’s angle. A great goal that took away the nervousness that was already growing among the home athletes. The question became: when would the second one come? Time passed slowly and the crowd waited. It had to be from Messi.
The clock reached minute 58, just over ten minutes into the second half. And the blow came, almost a snooker shot, as we are used to seeing. Carles Soler and Hakimi were close to the ball and were going to try the pass, but Messi asked and opened space. The powerful, accurate shot from the corner beat Dupé and should go on any collection of goals from outside the area of the season. He, always him, in his own way, never fails.
Until the end, it was again an offensive massacre by PSG, who piled up 22 finishes in total. There were five on target, the same number as a dangerous Toulouse, who even tried, but ran into his own limitation. And the table screams this abyss: the Parisians opened eight of advantage for the vice leader Marseille, while the violets stopped in the 12th place. Everything unfolded naturally to have the same usual outcome, since Qatar decided to invest heavily to make PSG a continental giant.
