The Paris Saint-Germain arrived in Lisbon on Wednesday with the intention of taking the three points and securing the top spot in Group H of the Champions League; however, they faced an excellent tactical scheme from Benfica. Only Lionel Messi was able to make a difference with a great goal in the 22nd minute, but little by little the Argentine also faded. In fact, at a certain moment, possibly frustrated by the opponent's marking, he committed a foul that went unnoticed by the referee Jesús Gil.
In the 76th minute, with the Parisian team dominating the game and looking to attack on the left side of the field, the South American forward controlled the ball and, in an attempt to assist his teammates, had to stop Enzo Fernández's marking with his arms open.
However, one of the striker's elbows hit the face of the 21-year-old midfielder, who is also part of the Argentine National Team. Immediately, the Benfica player fell to the ground and the referee was forced to stop the game after seeing his condition. Even so, after recovering, he did not call a foul on the 'Pulga'.
Despite not winning, 'Leo's team was able to maintain the leadership of the group. However, they are tied with the Portuguese team with 7 points and the same goal difference (+3), but with a better number of goals in favor (6 against 5 of Benfica), so everything is open in the fight for first place before both teams face each other again on October 11th at Parque de los Príncipes.
When will Messi play again with PSG?
After this match, the team led by coach Christophe Galtier, with Messi in attack, returns to compete in Ligue 1, where they are the sole leaders. This Saturday, PSG will visit Reims, before facing their classic rival Olympique de Marseille in a match that can determine the destiny of the championship: against the whites, the Parisians will take advantage of their home condition to take the three points on October 16th. After that, they will face Ajaccio in a less challenging match.
Messi's future: PSG or Barcelona?
Lionel Messi was once again the center of attention this week because journalist Verónica Brunati stated, through her Twitter account, that the player would return to Fútbol Club Barcelona in July next year. However, TyC Sports contacted the player's circle to find out more about this news.
Regarding this, the 'Pulga' media published that the close circle of the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder assured them that there was "no" contact between the player and the Catalan club.
The environment of the captain of the Argentine national team specified that the player is focused on the matches in Ligue 1, the group stage matches in the Champions League, and his participation in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It is important to mention that Messi has a contract with PSG until June 2023 with the option for one more year, and according to TyC Sports, the Parisian team has presented a formal offer to extend the contract at least until mid-2024.
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