REIMS - Lionel Messi finally made his PSG debut on Sunday, coming off the bench in the club's 2-0 victory at the Stade de Reims in Ligue 1. But it was Kylian Mbappe who stole the show by scoring both goals in the win.
The France international scored once in each half, even as the home crowd shouted for Messi (buy his new PSG jersey here) and was finally rewarded after Mbappe's second hit. Mauricio Pochettino waited until the final 66th minute to dismiss the Argentine legend, who conceded defeat for Neymar. The switch means we will have to wait to see if the Messi-Neymar-Mbappe trio ever sees the light of day at PSG.
Lionel Messi in #30 🔴🔵
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 29, 2021
(via @ESbeINSPORTS )pic.twitter.com/ZaGXayxiaK
As for Messi and Mbappe, the Frenchman was overjoyed to be on the same pitch as his illustrious new teammate and immediately sought him out at a time when he might not have other familiar teammates.
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As the transfer window ended, 22-year-old Mbappé, with Real Madrid, underlined his importance for Les Parisiens with clinical performances. Mbappe moved on from Di Maria Cross after a quarter of an hour and put the finishing touches on a lightning-fast counter-attack after 63 minutes as his strong sense Achraf Hakimi continues to develop with the arrival of summer.
⚽️ ¡Y llegó el segundo! @KMbappe sella su doblete@StadeDeReims 0-2 @PSG_espanol #SDRPSG ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/njEySJUFIr
— beIN SPORTS Español (@ESbeINSPORTS) August 29, 2021
Messi's best chance was snatched 12 minutes after joining up with Mbappe, and the South American was introduced to Ligue 1's customary heavy tackle as Reims lost his temper several times at the end.