Lionel Messi's first goal for Paris SG turns frustration into elation
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
Exactly 40 seconds before Lionel Messi scored his first goal for Paris Saint Germain to seal a 2-0 Champions League group stage victory over fellow favorite Manchester City on Tuesday, the greatest player of all time was the picture of frustration.
With the hosts up 1-0 and City pressing hard for the equalizer, PSG fullback Nuno Mendes sprung just the sort of lightning-quick counterattack fans across the globe envisioned the moment Messi joined former Barcelona running mate Neymar and French World Cup-winner Kylian Mbappe to form perhaps the most dangerous attacking trio the sport has ever seen.
Mendes found Neymar streaking up the left wing. The Brazilian picked out Mbappe in the middle, and Mbappe looked to play a quick return pass. Messi was alone in about 30 yards of space on the right side of the field, but neither of his teammates even looked at him. As what could have been a prime scoring chance fizzled, Messi stopped his run dead and dropped his chin to his chest.
Hours earlier, before this marquee match at the Parc des Princes — the one planet football has been looking forward to since August’s first-round draw — Spanish sports daily Marca dropped this headline: Mbappe alongside Messi and Neymar isn't working.
"Despite their superstar names, the trio doesn't appear to be working as well as coach Mauricio Pochettino may have hoped," the story read. It noted that Messi hadn’t scored in his first three matches with his new club and that with the Argentine deployed wide by Pochettino, Mbappe, forced to move centrally from his preferred spot on the wing, hadn’t either. It did allow that the season is still young.
"But," the story added, "the trio must learn to perform together sooner rather than later."
Messi has always had a sense for the big occasion, at least at the club level. There’s a reason he led Barca to 10 La Liga crowns over 16 years, plus four of its five European titles all time and a haul of lesser trophies, 35 in all.
In any sport, the GOAT tends to earn that distinction by coming through when it matters most.
Yet through his first three games in France, Messi, who bagged almost 700 goals across all competitions for Barcelona, didn’t do much. There was no immediate chemistry with Mbappe or, more worryingly, with Neymar, despite the pair’s history of success together. And this was against Reims, Lyon and Club Brugge — hardly elite continental heavyweights.
Messi’s slow start in France shouldn’t have been totally unexpected. The 34-year-old was on vacation for a full month following Argentina’s emotional Copa America win, his first hardware for his country after years of heartbreak, including three consecutive losses in the finals in the mid-2010s (2014 World Cup, 2015 and ’16 Copas).
He must have felt the shock of his transfer more than anyone; Messi, after nearly joining Man City last summer, expected to sign a new five-year contract that would allow him to finish his career at the Camp Nou. He joined Barcelona at 13. He’d lived his entire adult life there. His three sons were born within the city limits.
"My family and I were convinced that we were going to stay here at home," Messi said through tears at his farewell news conference. "I’ve still not quite come to terms with the reality of being in this position and leaving this club and changing my life completely."
After witnessing his supernatural feats for the better part of two decades, it’s easy to forget that Messi is human. Nobody needs to feel sorry for him, but moving to a new country and starting a new job is difficult for anyone — even the famous and fabulously rich.
Still, Messi knew the importance of Tuesday’s game. He wasn’t brought to Paris to win Ligue 1. For PSG, it’s a first Champions League title or bust. So despite missing the Parisians’ past two games with a bone bruise, there he was, not just in the squad but in Pochettino’s starting lineup. He was expected to perform.
Mbappe tried to find Messi in the buildup to Idrissa Gueye’s opener, but his feed deflected off a defender. That was as close as Messi got for more than an hour.
Then, in the blink of an eye, magic. Messi played a slick give-and go-with Mbappe, who sent the return pass off his heel. And with only City keeper Ederson to beat from the top of the box, fans knew what would happen next: Messi, with his patented left foot, pinged the ball into the upper corner.
The relief on his face was palpable, the despair he’d felt less than a minute earlier long gone.
For more up-to-date news on all things Paris St. Germain, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!
The pressure is off for now. His first goal was hugely consequential. It came on the biggest stage in the club game, following some beautiful interplay.
"I'm adapting to my teammates little by little," Messi said afterward via an interpreter. "The more we play together, the better it will become."
A little time can make all the difference.
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
