Lionel Messi shone brightly alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, as any hint of unhappiness in the team’s forward line was masked.
Following their midweek 7-2 thrashing of Maccabi Haifa, Paris Saint-Germain was in terrific attacking form once more as they defeated Troyes 4-3 on Saturday.
After Mama Balde gave Troyes the lead in the third minute, the hosts were startled into action. Gianluigi Donnarumma was beyond when Balde made his first shot, and the Parc des Princes went silent.
PSG’s comeback was spurred by Lionel Messi
Following a ball from Neymar, Carlos Soler equalized after 24 minutes with a skillfully placed shot.
Balde would then make another hit just after the break, this time firing a shot from within the box.
At this stage, Messi propelled his team forward. He received a ball from Sergio Ramos about 25 yards from goal and finished with a lavish long shot to score.
In the 62nd minute, Messi switched roles and passed to Neymar across the penalty area; the Brazilian promptly buried the ball.
After Gauthier Gallon made a defensive mistake inside the box in the 75th minute, Mbappe converted a penalty kick to cap the score for the Parisian team.
With only two minutes remaining, Troyes added another goal, further solidifying their performance. Renaud Ripart set up Ante Palaversa for the goal, who expertly finished.
In just seven Messi-inspired minutes, any fears that PSG would suffer their first loss of the season were immediately dispelled.
With a beautiful strike from 25 yards out that arrowed into the corner, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner scored his 12th goal of the year.
Just after the hour mark, Messi delivered a pinpoint pass through the Troyes defense for Neymar to beat Gallon and give PSG their first lead of the match.
Mbappe had the opportunity to extend the lead to two goals after Neymar finished off a crazy run through the middle of the field with a spectacular flicked pass, but he shot too close to Gallon.
With 14 minutes remaining, the France forward scored by putting a penalty high into the goal.
Late in the game, Ante Palaversa scored for the visiting squad, but PSG prevailed.
In Lens’ 3-0 victory over Toulouse on Friday, Belgian international Lois Openda scored a hat-trick after substituting in the second half.
Prior to their encounter against Nice on Sunday, Lens’ victory put them three points ahead of Lorient in third position.
Messi, Neymar and Mbappe this season
Who else except Messi? Despite not making the Ballon d’Or shortlist, he still proves that he is among the world’s finest players.
He has now tallied 12 goals and supplied 13 assists in his first 17 games across all competitions this season.
On the other hand, Kylian Mbappe has also scored 17 goals and provided 4 assist this season while Neymar has provided 11 assist and scored 14 goals this season too.
What next for PSG
With the victory, PSG’s lead over Lens at the top of Ligue 1 was restored to five points. Given the disparity in talent between Christophe Galtier’s team and the other teams in the French top division, they have only lost points twice in their first 13 games of the season.
