DBasia.news – Lionel Messi finally made his debut with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Ligue 1 2021-2022. So how was La Pulga’s performance in his first match with a club other than Barcelona?
Messi has actually officially belonged to PSG since August 10 last. At that time Ligue 1 had played its first week.
Four days after Messi was introduced as a new signing, PSG host Strasbourg in the second week of Ligue 1. But Les Parisiens insist it will not be the superstar’s debut.
Messi’s physical condition is not ready to appear in competitive matches. That’s because the person concerned has passed the pre-season.
Messi’s name was also not included in the list of PSG’s line-up when they traveled to Brest headquarters a week later. Even though the 34-year-old player has undergone full training.
The long awaited moment finally arrived, Monday (30/8) in the morning WIB. After almost three weeks joining, Messi finally appeared when PSG traveled to Reims headquarters.
Stade Auguste-Delaune II bears witness to this historic moment. Messi’s first time defending a club other than Barcelona at an official level.
Messi acted as a substitute in the debut match. He was only introduced in the 66th minute replacing Neymar.
When Messi came in, PSG was already 2-0 up. Kylian Mbappe, who was rumored to want to leave, performed brilliantly by buying up two goals.
But the spotlight immediately shifted when Messi entered the field. The Reims players seemed to provide a tight escort to the Argentinean.
Messi’s performance in his debut match tends to be ordinary. He has not issued his magical power in outwit the opposing defenders.
Messi looks still trying to adapt to PSG’s style of play. This can be seen from the frequent combination games he does with other players.
According to data compiled by Whoscored, Messi made 26 touches with the ball since entering the field. The number of his passes touched the number 21 with an accuracy of 95.2 percent.
But Messi has not been able to threaten the Reims goal either through shots or assists. He also once lost the ball because it was grabbed by an opposing player.
Interestingly, Messi had shown his tenacity in defense. He made one tackle to take the ball out of the opponent’s possession.
This rarely happened when he played at Barcelona. He showed Messi’s fighting power to succeed with PSG.
Pochettino’s response
Messi has not shown his maximum quality in the match against Reims. But it did not disappoint PSG coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino assesses that it is only a matter of time for Messi to perform optimally with PSG. He was quite satisfied with the debut of the player with the number 30 on the back.
“He (Messi) is good and I am very happy to see him make his debut. He is far from his best form, but he is training very well,” Pochettino told Amazon Prime after the game.
“He will be better after the (international) break. We wish him the best.”