August 30, (THEWILL) – The long-awaited debut of ex-Barcelona legend Lionel Messi for his new side, Paris Saint-Germain finally arrived on Sunday though he started the game on the bench. It was another headline grabber that stole the show as the French forward in the middle of a transfer drama, Kylian Mbappe, fired both goals for the visitors in their 2-0 Victory at Reims.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side maintained their perfect start to top the standings on 12 points with their first clean sheet of the season at Stade de Reims and it came with a clear notification to the Paris faithfuls of what they could be missing if Mbappe actually leaves Paris.
The 22-year-old has become a high priority target for Spanish giants Real Madrid and they were also watching to see what they could be getting if PSG finally accepts one of the numerous high prized bids they have proposed to get Mbappe over to the Santiago Bernabeu, especially after Messi joined.
Although Reims and their fans celebrated what they thought was a Marshall Munetsi equaliser five minutes into the second half, the Zimbabwean’s effort, which he scored off of a rebound that Keylor Navas dropped in his path, was ruled out for offside, after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.
Messi remained a star attraction for the game as it was known beforehand that he was in the squad list. All 20,545 tickets available were sold at the Auguste Delaune stadium. Fans were clearly hyped to see the 34-year-old play and they continued to chant the name of the Argentina forward.
Messi greeted the Reims fans as he started to warm up after 57 minutes, drawing applause from the home crowd. They stadium joined in singing his name just when he was about to come on.
To the excitement of Barca fans was added the thrill of seeing their idol enter the game in the 66th as Pochettino rested the returning Neymar, who was not at his best on the night. It was three minutes after Mbappe’s second goal as the Frenchman played with nothing to show that he was affected by the encircling transfer frenzy.
His pace was the difference as was his precise sense of timing. He scored the opener with a clinical header a quarter of an hour in from an Angel Di Maria’s cross and rounded it off with a simple tap in from close range.
Both Messi and Mbappé combined well in the time the Argentine was on but in his first competitive game since winning the Copa America with Argentina on 10 July 10, he still had some match-rustiness that will need some time to eliminate while he forms new tactical relationships with new teammates.
All the same, it was a solid performance by Mbappe, with an unresolved transfer issue around him, it was another three points for PSG, as they sit atop the league, and it was good for Messi to get some play time under his belt before joining his countrymen for the international break.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
