Paris St-Germain defeated Lyon with a goal from Lionel Messi to maintain their perfect record in Ligue 1 and extend their lead at the top of the standings by two points.
Within five minutes, Messi scored with a deft first-time effort after combining with Neymar, who contributed his eighth league-leading assist this season.
For Messi, it was his sixth PSG goal overall this season.
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Lyon 1-0 on Sunday to go two points clear of second-place Marseille in the French league. Lionel Messi and Neymar combined for the goal in only five minutes.
After passing back and forth with Neymar, Messi began and completed the deft move. He skillfully curled the ball past Anthony Lopes’ helpless dive to score his fourth league goal of the year.
Later on, after a Messi free kick, Sergio Ramos also had the ball in the goal, but he was offside.
Gianluigi Donnarumma made a stop on a shot by Alexandre Lacazette during the first half, but the Lyon player also missed a free header from a close range.
PSG currently leads Marseille, who have also failed to lose a match this year, by two points.
At Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi is going through whatever the opposite of second-season syndrome is right now.
After a disastrous first season at Parc des Princes in which he failed to receive a Ballon d’Or nomination, the great himself has gotten off to a fast start for the 2022–23 season.
Early in the second half, as PSG applied pressure before fading, Messi’s shot was blocked off the line.
As a result of Lyon controlling the ball, PSG’s midfield was overtaxed, and Marco Verratti hobbled out with a knee injury halfway through the second half.
When PSG responded, Lopes produced a superb low save on Messi’s low attempt in the 78th minute. Later, Lopes made an even better save to claw away Messi’s curling free kick.
Neymar looked dejected as he watched from the sideline after being replaced in the 85th minute.
Amazingly, Messi has already scored four goals in Ligue 1 from just eight games this season, when in the entire 2021–2022 season, he only managed to score six goals in the league.
Despite playing 150 fewer games than Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi has surpassed the Portuguese star player in the ranks for the most goals scored without taking a penalty.
So far in his professional career, Messi has scored 672 goals without penalties while Ronaldo has scored 671,
This means that Messi now has 672 non-penalty goals, surpassing Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo by one.
Despite having played 150 fewer games than the Portugal international, Messi has now passed Ronaldo in the standings.
Ronaldo, who seems to be growing increasingly dissatisfied at Manchester United, would be dismayed to see his rival break yet another record to his detriment.
