Lionel Messi finally got his first goal in Ligue 1 as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Nantes 3-1 at the Parc des Princes on Saturday evening.
Ligue 1
Result: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Nantes
Date: 20 November 2021
Venue: Parc des Princes
Neymar managed to recover in time and started alongside Messi and Kylian Mbappe, while Keylor Navas started between the sticks.
Mbappe made his intensions clear after just two minutes after opening the scoring from close range after getting on the end of Leandro Paredes' deflected shot.
Lionel Messi nearly added his name to the scoresheet in the 18th minute, but Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont produced a fine save.
The Argentine superstar's frustration began to grow as the first half went on, as he once again denied by Lafont with a superb saved in the 38th minute.
That proved to be the final chance of the half, as Nantes failed to trouble Navas at the other end in a dominant opening 45 minutes for the hosts.
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After a slow start to the second half, the game sprung into life after the hour mark when Navas was shown a straight red card for bringing down Blas who was through on goal.
Nantes took full advantage of the numbers game and found the equaliser in the 76th minute, with Randal Kolo Muani firing home from close range.
The joy did not last too long as PSG were back in front five minutes later when Juan Bernat's cross took a big deflection off Dennis Appiah and sailed over Lafont.
Messi had the final say on the night after ending his five-game drought in Ligue 1 with a trademark curler in the 87th minute to seal the win for the league leaders.
