Lionel Messi did it! Without his usual accomplices Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, the Argentinian led Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 with a brilliant goal against Toulouse (2-1) on Saturday, while Lyon revived thanks to their youngsters (3-1) in Troyes.
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Without Mbappé or Neymar, Messi leads Paris
Paris, long muzzled on this 22nd day, has not solved all its problems and all its inaccuracies, but this success signed by Messi will do Christophe Galtier’s team good: PSG consolidate its first place in L1 (54 pts. ) before the classic against Marseille on Wednesday in the Coupe de France, but above all ten days before the European Cup game against Bayern Munich.
“The mood was good, even if it wasn’t the best game,” summed up Paris captain Marquinhos on the Amazon Prime Video microphone. “We’re finding more and more of our form.”
The only downside of the evening, another injury weakened the Parisian workforce with the early departure of Renato Sanches (thigh), who tearfully watched the reunion with his former club from Munich on February 14th in the round of 16 in the Champions League.
If confirmed, his unavailability will be added to that of Mbappé, who injured a hamstring against Montpellier (3-1) on Wednesday.
In the absence of Mbappé and without Neymar (adductor problem) or Marco Verratti (suspended), Paris struggled to tame Toulouse, which led to the Parc des Princes after a lovely free-kick from Branco van den Boomen (20′).
But a blitz from Achraf Hakimi, a long shot from the left from the right (38′), got Paris up to speed before Messi, compensated by Hakimi, gave PSG his ‘special’, that shot flush off the post from the entrance to the surface (58th). The seven-time Ballon d’Or also found double amounts.
“Lionel Messi has taken the lead of this team,” said Galtier after the game. “He was a very important locomotive, just like his goal and the situations he created. »
In a thrilling end of the game, the Parisians owed their save only to several saves by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the main thing was winning before a tough series of games: Marseille in the Cup, Monaco in L1, Bayern in C1, then Lille and again OM in L1.
Lyon’s youth breathes new life into OL
Lyon, too irregular this season, regained momentum with the win at Troyes, thanks in particular to Bradley Barcola (20) and Rayan Cherki (19).
At the Aube stadium, Laurent Blanc’s team scored their first-ever goal in L1 (43′) before the break from Barcola, served by another Lyon player, Maxence Caqueret.
Then Cherki, a time PSG coveted in the January transfer window, drove home the point (59′) after a lone breakthrough he completed from the sharp end.
A shot on goal by Rony Lopes (62′) made Lyon doubt, before a clear goal from Alexandre Lacazette (90′ + 4) went into the goal.
This success allows OL (8th, 32 pts) to temporarily return to the first part of the standings, while Troyes (16th, 19 pts) remains threatened by the relegation zone.