Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Angers: World Cup hero Messi scores on return to domestic action

Hugo
Ekitike
put
PSG
ahead
inside
five
minutes
at
Parc
des
Princes
as
the
20-year-old
continued
his
recent
form
in
front
of
goal,
before
Messi
clinched
the
points
with
just
under
20
minutes
to
go
with
a
typically
stylish
finish
as
the
defending
champions
extended
their
lead
at
the
top
of
the
league
to
six
points.

After
being
beaten
3-1
in
their
previous
league
outing
by
title
rivals
Lens,
Christophe
Galtier
was
able
to
recall
Messi
and
Neymar
back
into
the
team
for
the
visit
of
bottom-of-the-table
Angers.

Abdel
Bouhazama
did
not
name
star
players
Azzedine
Ounahi
and
Sofiane
Boufal
in
his
starting
XI,
with
both
being
linked
with
moves
away
in
the
January
transfer
window,
though
the
latter
came
off
the
bench
for
the
final
half-hour.

Le
Paris
Saint-Germain
s’impose
Angers
!

@hekitike9

After
a
minute’s
applause
was
observed
to
pay
respect
to
the
late
Pele,
PSG
started
with
intent
as
Ekitike
swept
Nordi
Mukiele’s
low
cross
from
the
right
past
Angers
goalkeeper
Paul
Bernardoni
to
score
in
his
third-consecutive
game.

It
should
have
been
2-0
midway
through
the
first
half
when
Sergio
Ramos
got
on
the
end
of
a
Messi
free-kick,
only
for
Bernardoni
to
make
a
smart
save
from
the
Spaniard’s
header,
before
also
denying
Messi
with
a
stop
to
his
left
just
after
the
half-hour
mark.

Angers
started
the
second
half
well
as
PSG
struggled
to
put
the
game
to
bed,
and
Abdallah
Dipo
Sima
should
have
done
better
when
in
acres
of
space
on
the
right
of
the
hosts’ penalty
area
on
the
hour,
but
he
blazed
his
shot
over
the
bar.

Messi
had
a
nervous
wait
to
see
if
he
had
doubled
the
lead
in
the
72nd
minute
after
he
ran
onto
a
Mukiele
pass
to
roll
the
ball
into
the
bottom-left
corner
of
the
net,
with
a
VAR
review
eventually
overruling
the
initial
decision
of
offside,
much
to
the
Argentine’s
delight
and
PSG’s
relief.

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