by RICARDO ORPHANOS
Marvelous. Beautiful. Beyond Parisian reality. Leonel Messi scored his first goal for PSG against the premier league champions, Manchester City, in the Parc des Princes.
The Argentine super star did not disappoint as Messi and his team topped Man city 2-0.
During the First half of the game, Man City was all over PSG as they kept possession of the ball. However, after 8 minutes in the game, PSG broke through with a thunderous goal scored by Idrissa Gueye. It was beautifully striked as it went to the top right corner, making it 1-0 PSG.
That was Idrissa Gueye’s first goal in the Champions League.
Even though Man City were down 1-0, they will not go down quietly as they continued to press against PSG. By the 25th minute, Man City would have tied it up, but the ball hit the crossbar twice as Bernaldo Silva and Daniel Sturridge missed the opportunity to tie the game up.
As the first half came to an end, many fans were waiting for Messi to open his goal scoring account for PSG.
As the second half began and all the chances that Messi had, the wait was finally over.
Veratti was carrying the ball as he passed it to Messi who was on the right wing. He led the counter attack as rushed down the wing, heading towards goal. Messi passed it to Mbappe as he healed it back to Messi who struck it with his left foot as it went top right. The crowd exploded as Messi finally scored his first goal for PSG.
Messi’s first goal for PSG was his 121st Champions League goal.
After the Game, Messi shared his thoughts about scoring his first goal for PSG.
“I’m very happy to have scored,” said Messi. “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.”
He also shared his thoughts on the game against Manchester city.
“They were great opponents,” said Messi. “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.”
Before Messi joined PSG and scored his first goal for his new club, he was at Barcelona for 21 years. It was there that he shined and rose to fame. The four times champions league winner and Copa America champion was loved by the Barcelona legion as he scored many memorable goals.
The entire football/soccer world thought that he would retire as a Barcelona legend. Unfortunately for Messi and Barcelona, things went sideways as the club failed to comply with La Liga regulations.
In an emotional press conference, Messi made it clear that he didn’t want to leave Barcelona.
“My family and I were convinced we were going to stay, that’s what we wanted more than anything. We are at home here,” he said. “Now I have to say goodbye to all of this. I have been here since I was 13. After 21 years, I am leaving with my wife, with my three little Catalan-Argentine kids. I can’t say that we won’t come back in some way because this is our home and I promised my children we would.”
Flash forward today, Messi scored a goal that the PSG faithful will never forget.
On the other side of the world in East Boston where the Suffolk University Men’s Soccer team plays, Senior and Goal Keeper, Alfredo Figueroa, shared his thoughts on Messi’s first goal for PSG.
“It’s the type of goal you would expect from Messi,” said Figueroa. “Although it took him time to get back on scoring, I was happy to see that he hasn’t lost his strike. Formidable two touch combination with Mbappe to beat one of the best teams in the world, Manchester City.”
After scoring his first goal for his new club, it would seem that Leonel Messi is now adapting to his new team. Will he score more memorable goals for PSG? Only time will tell.
Ricardo Orphanos is a sports contributor to the Suffolk Journal.
Follow Ricardo Orphanos on Twitter: @OrphanosRicardo
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