Superstar striker Lionel Messi’s first football match at Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) home ground Parc des Princes was not so interesting as he failed to score on two crucial occasions in France’s top domestic football league Ligue 1. And still, Messi awaits his first goal in this league.
Messi did not become the hero in the match against Lyon, but substitute Mauro Icardi became one and his decisive goal helped PSG win the match with 2-1 football results. The Argentine played the third match for the team, in which he failed to score and in the 76th minute he had to be a substitute who was called off the field.
PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino had put up an attacking line-up in this match with Messi, Neymar, Mbappe, and Angel Di Maria, while the midfield had only Idrisa Guaye and Ander Herrera. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnaruma was dropped in the match after Keylor Navas played in the Champions League. This is Donnaruma’s second Ligue 1 match after he joined the club from Milan.
In the 32nd minute of the match, Neymar cleverly sent the ball towards Messi through a backheel and he sent the ball towards the goal post but Anthony Lopes did not allow him to score with a good defense. Four minutes later, Messi’s free-kick from 25 meters hit the bar of the goal post.
The half-time ended with a goalless score but at the start of the second half, Lucas Paqueta smacked PSG goalkeeper Donnaruma in the 54th minute to give Lyon’s team the lead by scoring the first goal of the match. However, his lead lasted only 13 minutes when Neymar converted a penalty to level the score at 1-1.
Meanwhile, PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino decided to replace Messi with Achraf Hakimi in the 76th minute. He didn’t even shake hands with Hakimi when he left the field in anger. After this, Icardi landed on the field in place of Maria in the 86th minute. Mbappé failed to score a goal in the match but he passed the ball to Icardi and he scored with a header in injury time (90+3 minutes) to give the team victory.
