“We saw the best player in the world again”… Lionel Messi on World Cup momentum for his big comeback
From our special correspondent on the Parc des Princes,
It’s past midnight, near the Parc des Princes, and some supporters are still waiting outside the players’ car park, hoping for some sign of the man of the evening’s passing. All the cars that come out have tinted windows, but that’s no big deal, the fans chant “Messiii, Messiiii” every time. There really is one in the lot that will drive the Argentinian home.
The world champion was really the attraction of the night, and we can say thanks to you because without him, this PSG-Angers was not so folichon on an icy Wednesday night in January it would have been a purge. If the meeting in general was a bit dull, the fault of the Parisians who perhaps took off their slippers a bit too cold before entering the field, Lionel Messi was until the reunion, almost three weeks later, the long-awaited world title.
The club decided not to organize a special ceremony before kick-off, believing, according to our colleagues from Le Parisien, that the guard of honor and the small trophy presented on his return to training enough to mark the occasion. It is also whispered that we are a little afraid of the reception at the Park, dedicated to Kylian Mbappé more than the Argentinian – who never made a superhuman effort to put it in his pocket – and perhaps still irritated by the stupidity of Emiliano Martinez. celebrations. But the public has proven that he knows how to give meaning to things. We don’t respect legend, everyone knows that.
Messi’s name was praised when the Paris squad was first announced, an hour before kick-off, when the stadium was three-quarters empty. The announcer repeated it even more at around 8:50 pm, although we heard a few whistles behind the applause. “Thank you to those who supported, and congratulations to them for welcoming him like this. Believe me, it warms his heart,” greeted Christophe Galtier after the meeting. We want to believe it, even if the person concerned can express himself, for example by going to the public with his little companions at the final whistle rather than going straight to the locker room. The only downside of the night.
“He’s calm”
But what is important to the Parisian coach is the field, and from this point, he admires the performance of his number 30. It is difficult to do otherwise, because the latter is the only dazzle in a meeting that is sad. From the 5th minute, it was he who, after a silky ball, moved Mukiele whose cross allowed Ekitike to open the scoring. 20 minutes from the end, he took care of everything, from a double outside ‘to start the action to a small dish of the unstoppable right foot to finish it and bow the match. Between these two highlights, the Argentinian will offer some sweets, such as this aerial one-touch pass in the first period to move Mukiele, who this time does not know how to take advantage of it. Not to mention his super glue temperature control that made the rounds on Twitter.
For those who thought the Argentinian would make a comeback after winning the final title of his career, it was a miss. He was rather on the go, involved, inspired, despite the rather heavy legs after a lively break, to say the least. “We saw, certainly, the best player in the world today, observed Galtier. He really wants to play, he recovered a lot, he prepared a lot. Obviously, when Leo is on the pitch, things change, very much. He seemed comfort, light, who won the trophy that he was missing. But he also really wanted to be quickly associated with the game again, with the competition, and he had a great game. »
Reunion with Mbappé this Thursday
Same feeling on the side of Nordi Mukiele, the only Parisian to have stopped to chat with us a bit in the mixed zone. Delighted to have provided the decisive pass to his popular teammate, the right side also noted the sense of fullness emanating from him. “I feel good, I’m happy here. It was before the World Cup, and beyond that. Having a happy Leo is a very good thing for the team, because he will help us for the second part of this season. »
There is definitely a lot to do, between the championship where Lens and OM will be watching for the slightest misstep, and especially the Champions League. The round of 16 first leg against Bayern Munich will happen very quickly, and seeing Messi at this level is obviously good news. The Argentinian, decisive 27 times in 20 games with PSG (13 victories, 14 assists), has based a season on his Barcelona standards. But for him like everyone else, the counters will be reset in February. During that time, Messi has gone through other reunions, necessarily quite special ones, with Kylian Mbappé. After ten days off, the French resumed training on Wednesday at the Camp des Loges.
