Lionel Messi celebrated his return to domestic competition after the World Cup by scoring a second-half goal as Paris Saint-Germain extended their Ligue 1 lead to six points with a 2-0 home win against Angers.
Messi, who wore a T-shirt honouring Pelé when he warmed up, received a strong welcome from the Parc des Princes crowd. He netted from close range in the 72nd minute to add to Hugo Ekitike’s first-half opener, putting PSG on 47 points from 18 games.
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Lens stayed second but dropped two points in a 2-2 draw at struggling Strasbourg with all the goals being scored before the break.
Third-placed Marseille are now two points adrift of Lens on 39 points after a 2-0 win over Troyes.
Ross Barkley scored twice as Nice responded to Lucien Favre’s sacking with a 6-1 thrashing of Montpellier. Arsenal loanee Nicolas Pépé also hit a double.
Thibaut Courtois saved José Gayà’s poorly struck spot-kick to give Real Madrid a 4-3 penalty-shootout win over Valencia in their Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Saudi Arabia.
Karim Benzema (right) celebrates with Thibaut Courtois (left) and Marco Asensio. Photograph: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images
The two teams finished level at 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Karim Benzema gave Real Madrid, the holders, the lead from the spot in the first half after he was fouled inside the area by Eray Comert but Valencia came back into the game and deservedly equalised through a Samuel Lino volley from a Toni Lato cross straight after half-time.
Vinícius Júnior could have won it for Real Madrid in extra time but his close-range shot was saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili. Real Madrid will face the winner of Thursday’s semi-final between Real Betis and Barcelona in the final in Riyadh on Sunday.
In Italy, Milan crashed out of the Coppa Italia after a 1-0 home defeat to Torino. Koffi Djidji was shown a red card in the 70th minute but Ndary Adopo struck in extra time for the 10 men.
Lionel Messi says ‘today was an important moment’ after goal in PSG win
A delighted Lionel Messi hailed his first goal for Paris Saint-Germain as an “important moment” as Manchester City were beaten 2-0 at Parc des Princes to take the French club top of their Champions League group.
Messi, returning from a knee problem that caused the 34-year-old forward to miss PSG’s past two matches, scored with a memorable second-half strike, exchanging passes with Kylian Mbappé before beating Ederson from 20 yards to clinch victory. This followed Idrissa Gueye’s opener before the break.
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“I’m very happy to have scored,” Messi told Canal+. “I hadn’t been able to play recently and this was only my second game in this stadium. I’m adapting to my new team. The more we forwards play together the better our relationship will be. We all need to grow together and improve and keep giving our best.
“They were great opponents. It was very important for us to win the match after our [opening] draw against Brugge. I really wanted to get out there. I haven’t played much. I’m still getting used to my teammates, the team, and today was an important moment.”
City are third after two matches but only a point behind PSG and Club Brugge. Pep Guardiola was pleased with their display. “We had a really good game with good personality but you have to score goals and we didn’t do it, that’s why we lost,” the manager said. “They defended deep and of course their counter-attack is always dangerous with the quality that they have. We controlled them. We couldn’t score, that’s football. Nothing else to say. My biggest compliment to the team.”
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Of Messi, City’s manager said: “The goal was fantastic. We know it’simpossible to control Leo during 90 minutes but he was not [too] much in touch with the ball. He was coming back from injury but we know quite well what he can do when he can run and get close to the box: he is unstoppable. We did quite well to reduce those chances.”
Guardiola managed Messi when in charge of Barcelona and he hopes the six-time Ballon d’Or winner can continue his success in the French capital. “I wish him the best, if he is happy and enjoying this period in Paris I will be happy. He decided for many reasons to come here, for him and his family,” he said of the Argentinian’s move in the summer.
Guardiola is also an admirer of the PSG midfielder Marco Verratti. “I’m in love. He is an exceptional player because when he is under pressure he is calm, he has that extra touch, to create extra passes behind our midfield,” he said. “Now we are going to eat good, drink a glass of wine and recover.”
