Lionel Messi gave teammate Neymar an exquisite pass in their League match against Brest to mark his seventh assist of the season.
The Paris Saint-Germain star has only slightly increased the brakes on his goal scoring, but he has never deviated from his role as a chance maker for his teammates.
And now that he has two prolific goal scorers on either side of him at Parc des Princes in Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, Messi has leaned even more into a quarterback-type role.
Messi’s flash of brilliance
Messi continues to be a key member of PSG’s front line, and yes, he is never far from scoring a goal himself, but he is more than happy to drop back and exert influence from a distance.
And boy, was Messi’s tail wagging this past weekend when it came to generating chances, as his inspiration was running high during the Ligue 1 match with Brest.
Messi has displayed renewed energy throughout his second season in France, and during his most recent game in the country’s top division, he was slinging fantastic passes all over the place.
Lionel Messi running Brests’ defense with passes
No single pass was so mind-blowing that it belonged in the Louvre, but seeing Messi chop the opposition in two every 10 seconds was pure torment.
You had the impression that the legendary Barcelona player could always loft the ball over Brest’s defense and into the precise area of the field he desired.
Finally, Messi’s passing range was so precise that he was able to set up both Neymar’s opening goal and a red card for Pierre Hérelle that was only overturned for offside.
Messi’s best pass in the first half was the one that resulted in an assist, but all of his other passes were deserving of your entire attention as well.
Golden playmaking from Messi
Overall, Messi’s first-half stats were astounding, according to Statman Dave, who recorded him with four crucial passes, 100% completion of long balls, two significant opportunities generated, and of course, an assist for Neymar.
Even though the opposition isn’t exactly of the highest caliber, Brest or Bayern Munich, providing that many lavish passes require a really gifted creative touch.
And Messi’s most recent passing display will undoubtedly send a chilling message to Europe’s top teams, as PSG keeps getting better and better under Christophe Galtier’s leadership.
It appears that their number 30 is suffering from second-season malaise, but in the greatest way imaginable.
