Lionel Messi on Tuesday scored his maiden goal for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in their 2-0 UEFA Champions League victory against Manchester City — and there was a sense of relief at the Ligue 1 club after the Argentine’s stuttering start to the season.
Messi had been unconvincing in his first three appearances since joining on a two-year contract after leaving Barcelona, but he reminded everyone of his talent on Tuesday.
After a quiet first half, the diminutive forward linked up with Kylian Mbappe and found the top corner to effectively wrap up the win in the 74th minute.
Photo: AP
His goal sent the Parc des Princes crowd into raptures and prompted a rare celebration from coach Mauricio Pochettino.
“I’ve spent 20 years watching him score goals from the other side of the opposite pavement — and it’s the first time he scores for a team I manage, so I had to celebrate,” Pochettino said, smiling. “You need this type of performance and players like him need to feel the back of the net. He needs to create links within the team after 20 years in Barcelona.”
Expectations have been high for PSG’s Messi, Mbappe and Neymar. Last weekend, Pochettino had to play down talk of a fallout between the Frenchman and the Brazilian.
While they have yet to gel, Tuesday’s game showed promise.
“I am very happy to have scored,” said Messi, back on the pitch after sitting out two games with a bruised knee. “I haven’t played much recently. Only one game [at the Parc des Princes] — this is the second one here. I am gradually adapting to my new team, to my teammates.”
City manager Pep Guardiola, who coached Messi at Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, said his team played well, but it was impossible to stop Mbappe, Messi and Neymar.
“I wish [Messi] the best. I hope that he’s happy and enjoying it here. He made me so happy when we were together,” Guardiola added.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled on Thursday as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart, Germany, to set up a UEFA Nations League final with Portugal. Yamal bagged a brace, while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons. Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the score sheet for the UEFA Euro 2024 champions. Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal. France’s three late goals — a
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
The Crusaders yesterday produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 and claim home advantage in next week’s Super Rugby semi-finals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders’ forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. “Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet
RSS