Lionel Messi scored in PSG’s 2-0 win against Angers in Ligue 1 on Wednesday, his first appearance since guiding Argentina to World Cup triumph in Qatar.
Messi had been rested for PSG’s first three matches following the World Cup, but he returned to training in Paris a week ago and was back in the starting lineup for this game against Ligue 1’s lowest side.
PSG moved six points clear at the top of the French table with the win, which came three and a half weeks after he guided Argentina to a World Cup final victory on penalties against France in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe was rested for a second straight game after being granted time off for a vacation in New York following his own World Cup campaign, in which he scored a hat-trick in the final but lost.
Mbappe and Messi are likely to rejoin this weekend in a match against Rennes on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Messi’s absence meant that youthful striker Hugo Ekitike began in the home attack at the Parc des Princes, and he scored the goal in the fifth minute from a Nordi Mukiele cross at the culmination of a play that included Messi.
PSG were not at their sparkling best but Messi swept in his 13th club goal of the season to make it 2-0 with 17 minutes left.
Ekitike and Mukiele were again involved before Messi applied the finish. The goal was initially disallowed for offside but a VAR check allowed it to stand.
“Messi has recovered well. He is relaxed and in great shape physically, and with Leo the team looks different,” said coach Christophe Galtier.
Speaking to broadcaster Canal Plus, Galtier, who said he had come down with a fever during the game, added: “We are coming back off the World Cup so it is difficult for the players to find their reference points again.”
“We are all just getting used to playing together again and you could see at times that we lacked some of the connections between the players that we had more often before the World Cup.”
