PARIS: Lionel Messi scored his first goal for Paris Saint-Germain in a 2-0 Champions League win over Manchester City on Tuesday, giving the club a sense of relief and hope after a shaky start from the top player. Messi was not convincing in the prime three games since moving to Saint-Germain on a two-year contract from Barcelona, but on Tuesday he reminded everyone of his immense talent. After a quiet first half, Messi swapped the ball with Kylian Mbappe, then fired a great shot from the edge of thearea penalty in the upper corner of the City goal, to decide the victory of the hosts in the 74th minute. The celebrations by the fans at the Parc des Princes, as celebrated by Coach Mauricio Pochettino, are rare. “I spent 20 years watching him score from the other side, and this is the first time he scores for a team that I coach, so I should have celebrated,” said Pochettino with a smile. “We need a performance like that and players like him who can score. He needs to integrate with the team after 20 years in Barcelona. He has different feelings and there are many new ones for him.” Expectations were high on the attacking trio of Saint-Germain, made up of Messi, Mbappé and Neymar, and this week Pochettino downplayed the importance of a fight between the Frenchman and his Brazilian colleague. in a local match. “I am very happy to score,” said Messi, who is back in team after missing two games with a knee bruise. “I haven’t played much lately,” he said. I played one game (at the Parc des Princes) and this is my second game here. I am gradually acclimating to a new team and my new teammates ”. “The more we play together (with Neymar and Mbappe), the better. We need to grow together and raise the level of our game. We played great. We need to do our best and keep operating. in this way”. City manager Pep Guardiola, who coached Messi at Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, said his team played well but that it was impossible to fully control players like Mbappe, Messi and Neymar. “They cannot be checked in the course of 90 minutes,” he added. The only way I know, either in effects there are two ways, the first is to defend and pray, and the second is to have the ball and create chances and that’s what we did, but we had to create more chances and play harder. ” “I wish him (Messi) all the best. I hope he is happy and has a good time here. He made me so happy when we were together.” (Reuters) messi’s goal today ???? pic.twitter.com / GFJg8LDanF – soucy (@soucysouc) September 29, 2021
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