One of the most staggering storylines of this summer’s transfer window was the transfer saga of Leo Messi, who left Barcelona for greener pastures at Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi who is arguably the greatest player of all time had to part ways with the Catalan club after more than 21 years, courtesy of talks about a new contract breaking down due to La Liga restrictions. As a result, Messi went to Paris in order to strike up a mouth-watering partnership with Neymar and Kylian Mbappé at the French capital – making them the team to beat in the Champions League this season.
Messi joined a list of high-profile signings such as the likes of Sergio Ramos, Gini Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi, and Gianluigi Donnarumma to join the Parisian outfit this summer, and naturally, all eyes were on Mauricio Pochettino’s team when they lined up for their first Champions League outing of this season.
PSG faced Club Brugge in the Champions League last night, and millions of football fans around the world tuned in to watch the Argentinian superstar make his first European appearance for his new club – but they were left fairly disappointed as Messi did not have the best of outings as a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain succumbed to a 1-1 draw against their less favoured hosts.
A Brugge fan holding a sign which says "Messi have mercy" 😭😂😭 pic.twitter.com/8iuhEcjoat
— Footy Humour (@FootyHumour) September 15, 2021
When Ander Herrera’s strike sent PSG into the lead in the 15th minute, any betting person would have placed their wagers on them adding more goals to their lead to complete a comprehensive win.
But things never go according to plan in the beautiful game – and captain Hans Vanaken netted for Brugge right before the second quarter of an hour to level the match.
Neither team could find the breakthrough after that, as the match finished 1-1 at full time. PSG’s exciting trio could barely live up to expectations, and Messi had a very anonymous outing, to say the least.
Here are the 4 reasons why
- Messi played for the entirety of the 90 minutes but could manage only three shots at the Brugge goal – only one of which was on target.
PSG and their attacking trio of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe got outshot 16-9 by Club Brugge tonight.
— Josh Williams (@DistanceCovered) September 15, 2021
2. Messi went close to scoring in the first half with a left-footed shot that bounced off the crossbar, but that was a solitary flash of brilliance from the man usually known for his out-of-the-world ability.
3. The Argentinian created only three chances and missed one big chance, and also got himself booked to conclude what was a very underwhelming Champions League debut for him for his new club.
Messi looked a bit lost last night tbh for PSG. Hardly surprising though. Leaves a club and style of football he's been with all his life, it's going to take time to adjust not just on the pitch but mentally too
— Mark Goldbridge (@markgoldbridge) September 16, 2021
4. Moreover, PSG looked like a set of highly talented individuals but they barely gelled together – a clip from the game on Twitter showed Messi’s new teammates looking at him trying to do something with the ball, spectating one of the greatest ever on the pitch like the numerous fans watching at home.
Crying, Messi teammates are watching the game just like us pic.twitter.com/93rhe71gdk
— mx (@MessiMX30i) September 15, 2021
While PSG might sound like the real deal on paper, yesterday’s match suggested that there is still quite some work to be done on the pitch.