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Ligue 1 leaders PSG comfortably beat Nantes on Saturday night 3-1, with Messi scoring his first goal in the French top flight at the Parc des Princes. Kylian Mbappe was first to etch his name onto the scoresheet after deflecting Leandro Paredes' shot into the net barely two minutes into the game. Nantes however equalized 20 minutes into the game with a goal from Randal Kolo Muani. Dennis Appiah gave PSG the lead once more by scoring an own goal against Nantes in the 81st minute. PSG keeper Keylor Navas was expulsed with a red card in the 65th minute for a nasty foul on Ludovic Blas, and  Sergio Rico  was brought in as replacement. Messi's goal came in the 87th minute as he took on a pass from Kylian Mbappe on the edge of the box and shot it into the net.  “I’m happy with this first goal, I really wanted it. I had several chances before in this match and in the previous matches,” said Messi. “I am very happy with this first goal in the league, I had already scored in the C

On Sunday, October 10, Argentina faced Uruguay in a 2022 World Cup qualifier. Argentina were victorious, bating Uruguay 3-0. Messi was first to open scoring for Argentina, in the 38th minute with a pass! He literally assisted his own goal. It was his 80th and latest international goal for Argentina, making him the first South American male player to score 80 international goals.  Before half time, Rodrigo de Paul doubled Argentina's lead, with Lautaro Martinez going on to score from close range to make it 3-0 for the hosts. "We played a great game," Messi told reporters, per  Reuters , after the match. "Everything worked out perfectly.” "Uruguay wait for you and they generate danger. Once we got the first goal we started to find space and the goals appeared.” Argentina come second in the South American World Cup qualifying race, with Brazil leading - 28 points from nine wins and a draw in 10 games. Ecuador come third, Uruguay fourth, and Colombia fifth,

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has ended his mini goal drought at PSG as he scored on Tuesday night in a 2-0 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League group phase. PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye gave PSG an early lead in the 8th minute, with Raheem Sterling and Bernado Silva coming close to equalizing for PSG as they hit the bar in succession. Messi's sublime goal from the edge of the box however cemented victory for the French.  Football pundit and former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand reacted on BT Sport as Messi took up a position on the floor behind a defensive wall to prevent Manchester City from surprising PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low shot as City took a late free kick. He said: “No, no, no, no. You can’t. “It’s disrespectful, I wouldn’t have it. “If I was in that team, I’d have to say, ‘Listen, I’ll lay down for you.’ “Sorry, I couldn’t have him laying down like that. I can’t see it. “He don’t get his kit

Lionel Messi has been rated best player in FIFA 22, from rankings published by EA Sports. Messi is rated at 93 in this year's edition, ahead of second-placed Robert Lewandowski who has a 92 rating, and third-placed Cristiano Ronaldo who shares a rating of 91 with Kevin De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jr and Jan Oblak. Kevin De Bruyne's is the highest-rated Premier League footballer on the game, as both Harry Kane and N'Golo Kante come in at 90. Here's the complete list of FIFA 22's best players. 1.  Lionel Messi - 93 2.  Robert Lewandowski - 92 3.  Cristiano Ronaldo - 91 4.  Kevin De Bruyne - 91 5.  Kylian Mbappe - 91 6.  Neymar Jr - 91 7.  Jan Oblak - 91 8.  Harry Kane - 90 9.  N'Golo Kante - 90 10.  Manuel Neuer - 90 11.  Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 90 12.  Mohamed Salah - 89 13.  Gianluigi Donnarumma - 89 14.  Karim Benzema - 89 15.  Virgil van Dijk - 89 16.  Joshua Kimmich - 89 17.  Heung Min Son - 89 18.  Alisson - 89 19. 

Argentina captain and icon Lionel Messi on Thursday night became the top male international goalscorer, overtaking Brazil legend Pele. Messi scored a hat-trick to give Argentina a 3-0 win over Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier. Messi's international goal tally now stands at 79, two more than Pele. Pele - three-time World Cup winner with Brazil is currently in hospital due to surgery for a tumor on his colon. It was the first time Argentina fans were allowed to watch their national team since the start of the pandemic. There were 21,000 fans in attendance at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Messi scored his first goal 14 minutes into the game - he moved the ball between a Bolivian defender's legs and shot from outside the box to the right of goalkeeper Carlos Lampe. Hi second came in the 64th minute after he worked a one-two with Lautaro Martinez and displayed superb footwork in a packed penalty box. He completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute, sending home a rebound

Lionel Messi made his PSG debut against Reims on Sunday, applauded by most of the 21,000 fans in attendance. He replaced Neymar in the 65th minute for what could be the greatest substitution in history. The star for PSG that night was however Kylian Mbappe who scored a brace in what could be his final game in a PSG shirt, securing a 2-0 victory for PSG. Messi however struck records out of the field - his debut was the most-watched Ligue 1 fixture in the history of TV fixtures in France. In Spain, his debut averaged over 2 million viewers, making it the most-watched French football game in the country. Figures revealed show that the match had an average audience of 2.2 million viewers in Spain.  Kosmos Holding, Gerard Pique's company, secured the rights to Ligue 1 following Messi's move to Paris in August. Only Telecinco and Llanos in Spain secured access to Messi's debut, with a license from Kosmos. Llanos's Twitch channel avraged 2 million unique Spanish viewers, a