Paris Saint Germain fans finally got what they have been looking forward to since Lionel Messi joined the French club from FC Barcelona in August 2021.
Recall that when Lionel Messi joined the French club in August 2021, most football enthusiasts thought his reunion with Neymar whom he played with for over three seasons at Barca would make PSG unbeatable. However, that has not been the case.
Messi joined Neymar at PSG at a point Kylian Mbappe was scoring and providing assists almost every week. Hence, most football fans thought Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe would make the most deadly front three in the history of football.
But the effectiveness of the trio has not been felt as much as expected since the 2021-2022 season started. The height of the lack of ineffectiveness showed in the UEFA Champions League where Real Madrid knocked out PSG in the round of 16.
Due to the inability of Neymar and Lionel Messi to make any difference in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie with Real Madrid, PSG fans booed the duo.
On Sunday, April 3, 2022, Paris Saint Germain fans saw the kind of trio they have been expecting to see. In the French Ligue 1 game between PSG and Lorient at Parc des Princes, PSG’s coach Mauricio Pochettino decided to start Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe.
The Argentine coach played Messi and Mbappe upfront while he decided to play Neymar on the right-hand side of the midfield which worked perfectly for the French team.
In the 12th minute of the game, Kylian Mbappe provided an assist for Neymar to score the match opener. In the 28th minute of the game, Mbappe scored his goal by taking advantage of Gueye’s assist.
While in the 56th minute of the game, Lorient’s Terem Moffi scored to make it 2-1 to give the visitors the hope of equalizing. But PSG proved to be too good for the 16th placed team.
To confirm their superiority over their visitors, Kylian Mbappe doubled PSG’s lead in the 67th minute after taking an advantage of Achraf Hakimi’s assist.
Lionel Messi registered his third goal in his 19th French Ligue 1 game of the season in the 73rd-minute of the game thanks to an assist from Mbappe.
In the 90th minute of the thrilling encounter, Neymar made it a 5-1 victory over their visitors after taking advantage of Mbappe’s assist.
📺 Relive the highlights from our match VS Lorient and the goals from Mbappé ⚽️⚽️ , Neymar Jr ⚽️⚽️ and Leo Messi ⚽️ !
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) April 3, 2022
#PSGFCL
pic.twitter.com/QivYaqOJiK
Hence, it was not just a show of Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe in terms of scoring goals, it was purely Mbappe’s show in terms of providing assists (three assists).
So far this season, Kylian Mbappe whose contract with PSG will expire at the end of the 2021-2022 season, has scored 17 goals and provided 13 assists in 27 games in the French league alone.
Mbappe’s effort and that of his teammates have helped PSG to occupy the first spot in the French Ligue 1 table with 68 points in 30 games, 12 points above second-placed Marseille. Hence, all things being equal, PSG could emerge, as winners of the league, this season.
