The goal was a play of wondrous individual brilliance from the diminutive Argentine. As PSG countered on Manchester City, Messi received the ball wide-right near half-field. Messi broke at pace against the retreating City defense. As he approached the 18-yard box, he cut in on his left foot and played a lovely pass into Kylian Mbappe. The young Frenchman wasted no time and played the ball right back to Messi with a backheel. Messi struck the ball with accuracy, curve, and venom as he left City's keeper, Ederson, to helplessly watch. The goal gave PSG a 2-0 lead and control over the hotly contested tie.
Messi's first PSG goal took him 264 minutes to muster. For a man who has scored a goal every 93 minutes throughout his professional career, the wait must have felt like an eternity. The goal came at a crucial time for PSG in their heavy-weight clash with Manchester City. PSG was clinging to a 1-0 lead and was a bit too happy to absorb City's pressure. Without the goal, it looked like the game was heading for a tie. Messi's goal made sure that PSG got all three points and gave him a signature goal against his former coach, Pep Guardiola.
The goal also springs optimism that PSG's famed front-three of Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe can find a groove on their way to finding goal. Messi's first goal for PSG, won't be his last, and with the pressure to get number one gone, number two shouldn't take another 264 minutes.