Paris Saint-Germain cruised to to a comfortable victory once again in Ligue 1 on Saturday evening as Christophe Galtier’s side travelled to Nantes ahead of their Champions League opener against Juventus and took out their rivals with a 3-0 win.
With Neymar – arguably the most in-form player in Ligue 1 and Europe so far in 2022/23 – rested, PSG still managed to claim the win with cosummate ease as his two other partners-in-crime Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi combined brilliantly to wreak havoc once again on the opposition’s defence. Mbappe scored twice with the Argentine again assuming the role of playmaker to orchestrate the attack once again with two scinitillating assists for both the goals.
Messi certainly looks to be back to his very best after yet another flawless display and has clearly left behind a shaky debut season in Paris. He registered 119 touches of the ball, had nine successful dribbles – the most by any player for a match in Europe’s top five leagues this season – and created four chances during this latest masterclass as the quintessential playmaker.
The Argentine’s latest two assists have now entered the books as yet another incredible record in the creative department as the 35-year-old is the first player to register 100 assists since the start of the 2015/16 season, as per stats-based website SofaScore.
His accolades and laurels earned as being among the greatest goalscorers in history aside, Messi is also in the mix to be labelled the finest playmaker the sport has ever seen, as the former Blaugrana captain’s spectacular highlights against Nantes again attest to.
Messi was just simply unplayable at the Beaujoire Stadium, which should augur well for Argentina as they are already one of the big favorites to lift the trophy in this year’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar. By the same token, his rapidly increasing form should also be a major cause of concern for rival nations.