Lionel Messi who has been on the low for Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1 came alive when they needed the Argentine magician the most.
PSG after having their early goal disallowed got punished in the 23rd minute and struggled to get an equalizer until Saint-Etienne gave them the advantage of an extra man when Timothee Kolodziejczak was sent off at the brink of half time.
It has always been difficult playing against a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain with eleven (11) player and it gets extra difficult playing them with a player short.
Lionel Messi who was having a quiet game picked up his usual pace after a wonderful pep talk in the dugout and got things going right after Saint-Etienne went down by a man.
The Argentine magician wiggled his way through to send a sweet pass through to Marquinhos who did not miss from that position.
It was game on at 45+2 minutes with Marquinhos bagging the equalizer for PSG.
The first half ended with each sides a goal apiece.
The Second half started with lot of pressure on the home team as they became vulnerable going forward knowing PSG had the pace and power to take on any defensive line in the league.
Saint-Etienne who started playing in their own half started inviting trouble as Paris Saint-Germain started pushing forward in their numbers.
With time running down and Claude Puel thinking his side is going to manage a draw, Lionel Messi in the 79th minute found his national/club teammate Angel Di Maria with another wonderful pass which was converted without pressure to give PSG their much expected second goal.
Minutes after Di Maria scored the second goal for PSG, Neymar Da Silva Jnr. Was involved in a career threatening tackle that saw the Brazilian playmaker twist his ankle. The screams from the player quickly catch the attention of the medical team who rushed on to attend to him.
The demeanor of the players clearly showed their sympathy as Neymar was stretchered off the field.
Three minutes after losing Neymar to injury, Messi got his hat-trick of assists as he drove in another pass which was converted by Marquinhos for his second and third for Paris Saint-Germain.
I am a young and vibrant sports journalist from Ghana, a member of the Sports Writers’ Association of Ghana(SWAG), and working with Sports Preview Ghana and sports reporting outfit poised to bring all the latest and trending sports news around the globe.
