Messi substituted at half-time, Paris then turned the game around

Lionel Messi failed to make an impact in his fifth Ligue 1 match, even coming on after half-time against Lille. And PSG turned the game around without him and won 2-1.

Lionel Messi was expected to finally break his shooting silence before the match against Lille. The Argentine dribbler had not scored a goal in his first four Ligue 1 games and had not even assisted once.

The holder of six Ballon d’Ors went into the twelfth round of the French league with a slight muscle injury. Mauricio Pochettino could not afford to sit him down, he was already missing Kylian Mbappé.

Messi, however, did not fare well at all in Friday’s game. Moreover, Lille scored a goal and led 1: 0 at half-time. PSG went into the second half without Messi and replaced him with his compatriot Mauro Icardi.

Another Argentine broke the match in favour of the favourite. Ángel di María first assisted Marquinhos, then scored himself a minute before the end of regulation time and put the first half to rest.

Paris thus increased their lead at the top of the table over second-placed Lens to ten points, with one more game to play. Lille are only eleventh.

For Messi, on the other hand, this is the worst start to a league season in sixteen years. The last time he waited the first six games of the 2004/05 season to score in La Liga, but he was eighteen years old then.

Source: Transfermarkt