PSG 2-0 Man City: Lionel Messi opens account with vintage strike to seal Champions League win

AFP via Getty Images
Malik Ouzia @MalikOuzia_28 September 2021

Lionel Messi’s scored his first PSG goal to help the French side to a 2-0 victory in Tuesday night’s heavyweight Champions League clash with Manchester City.

The Argentine, who signed on a free transfer from Barcelona this summer, found the net with a trademark effort midway through the second half after Idrissa Gueye’s eigth-minute strike had opened the scoring.

Messi had been a doubt to start the game, having missed Ligue 1 wins over Metz and Montpellier with a knee problem but joined Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in the same front three that started PSG’s draw with Club Brugge in their opening group game.

Neymar looked to have fluffed an early chance to open the scoring when miscuing from Mbappe’s cut-back but former Everton midfielder Gueye arrived behind him to arrow a superb finish into the top corner.

City responded well to the goal and were the better side for much of the first-half, dominanting possession in a similar manner to that which had seen them outplay Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.

They should have been level before the break when Raheem Sterling’s header came back off the bar to leave Bernardo Silva an open goal from three yards, only for the Portuguese to also lift his effort onto the woodwork.

City were in the ascendancy after the interval, too, and looked the more likely to add to the scoreline until Messi’s moment of magic 16 minutes from time.

The 34-year-old picked up the ball from the returning Marco Verratti and drove into the City half before laying into Mbappe and latching onto the Frenchman’s wonderful backheeled flick to guide a first-time strike across Ederson and into the top corner.

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