Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi was back with PSG for the first time after beating France in the FIFA World Cup final last month with Argentina. The talismanic forward showed no mercy towards the French during the final as he was in full throttle, scoring a brace to help his country to the ultimate prize. However, things had taken a bad turn after his Argentina teammate Emiliano Martinez constantly and mercilessly trolled France and PSG’s hero, Kylian Mbappe.

There was a feeling of rage as well as disappointment within the PSG fan base that one of their players’, Messi’s teammate, trolled their main man Mbappe. So much so that PSG even denied Leo’s request to show-off his World Cup winners medal in a packed Parc des Princes, like many of his other national teammates had done at their respective clubs. However, amidst a tensed situation, the 35-year-old rather won over the fans’ hearts with a sublime display against Angers, and an incredible piece of art during the warm-up.

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi continued his form from the World Cup on returning for PSG. Credits: Twitter

Lionel Messi sends fans into a frenzy with artistic skills in warm up

Lionel Messi received a cold reception from the Parc des Princes as he made his comeback against Angers in Ligue 1. Instead, the seven-time Ballon d’Or walked out of the tunnel for the team’s pre-game warm-up as one of the guys, participating in shuttle runs and the rondo as everyone else did while donning a Pele-themed t-shirt. A few close-ups of him were shown on the stadium’s big screen, but they didn’t draw much attention from the PSG fans.

However, Lionel Messi knows how to win hearts, as an incredible piece of work from him during the warm-up, elevated the fans off their seats to roar with their usual chant of ‘Messi! Messi! Messi!’. The former Barca man exceptionally controlled a long ball with such an ease, that it almost felt like poetry in motion. Messi is known for his dazzling dribbling and close control of the ball, and the defying touch was just another evidence of it.

He then offered a lot in the game as well, with his first involvement coming right inside the five minutes of the kick-off. Messi brilliantly controlled a PSG throw-in just near the Angers penalty box, and thread in a perfectly weighed pass to release Nordi Mukiele on the right flank. The summer recruit then squared it off to Hugo Ekitike who put the Parisians ahead in the fifth minute.

The newly crowned world champion then decided to serve the fans what they had been waiting for. Messi got himself on he scoresheet in the 72nd minute, finishing a move started by himself. The Argentina captain collected a pass from Sergio Ramos at the edge of the Angers penalty box, slid in an outside-of-the-foot pass to Ekitike, who found Mukiele, who then laid-off a pass for Messi to finish it off with his right foot.

Initially chalked-off for an off-side, the goal was then given after a VAR check as Messi celebrated with his teammates around him. The returning hero finally received what he rather deserved from the start of the game, an ovation from his own club fans, who appreciated the ‘GOATness’ of the player. With the goal, Messi now has an impressive 13 goals and 14 assists in just 20 appearances in all competitions.