Paris Saint-Germain starts Ligue 1 with a resounding victory
The Paris Saint-Germain began Ligue 1 with a resounding victory with goals from Neymar, Hakimi, Marquinhos, and Messi (2).
Lionel Messi, with a double and above all a spectacular goal with his back to the goal, and Neymar, with a goal and three assists, were the absolute stars of Paris Saint-Germain in the 5-0 victory on Clermont's field, on the first day of the French Ligue 1.
In the absence of Kylian Mbappé due to injury, the two South American players shone brightly.
Messi sealed the rout with a memorable goal, controlling a long pass from his Argentine compatriot Leandro Paredes with his chest and shooting with his back to the goal, to make it 5-0 in the 86th minute.
Moments earlier, in the 80th minute, Messi had scored his first goal of the match and of this Ligue 1 by easily tapping in a cross gifted by Neymar.
It was the Brazilian's third assist of the match, as he scored the first goal of his club in this league in just the 9th minute, finishing off after Messi lightly touched a cross from Pablo Sarabia.
Neymar then provided the decisive pass for his Moroccan teammate Achraf Hakimi (26) to beat the local goalkeeper with a powerful shot into the top corner, and later hung a ball that Sergio Ramos just missed but was headed directly into the net by the also Brazilian Marquinhos (38).
With a three-goal advantage at halftime, the second half was very calm for PSG, who sealed the rout with Messi's brace in the final minutes, bringing a smile to the Argentine's face as he kicked off his second season with the French team.
Paris Saint-Germain, the champion of Ligue 1 last season, thus starts off as the leader of the standings with a better goal difference. AFP