Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have formed one of the best attacking duos across all competitions in club football. Complementary in the French top flight, forward Mbappe and footballing icon Messi have propelled Paris Saint Germain (PSG) to the top spot in the Ligue 1 standings. While Messi is the assist leader, French forward Mbappe is the leading goal scorer in Ligue 1 season 2022-2023. Interestingly, 11 of Messi’s 20 assists have come for Mbappe in the French top flight.
On Sunday, Brazilian superstar Neymar netted his 10th goal of the season as PSG battled past Brest in Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes. Messi, who has hit a purple patch in his second season at PSG, joined forces with Neymar to open the scoring for the hosts in the 30th minute. Neymar also tried to set up Mbappe but the French forward failed to open his account in the low-scoring contest.
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Interestingly, Mbappe accidentally thwarted Messi’s bid to score from close range. Messi’s left-footed shot ended up hitting Mbappe before the ball was ricocheted out of play. Taking cognisance of the incident, fans and followers of the club lashed out at Mbappe for ‘blocking’ Messi’s shot on goal. “Nice block by Kylian Mbappe on the Lionel Messi shot for PSG,” one fan said. “He never passes or assists Messi and now blocking, Mbappe is doing everything,” another fan tweeted.
Talking about the match, Neymar’s opener for PSG turned out to be the winner as Messi & Co. defeated Brest 1-0 in the French top flight at home. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma came up with a stunning penalty save in the second half which also paved the way for PSG to return back to the top of the table. Under new coach Christophe Galtier, Mbappe-starrer PSG are unbeaten in 7 league matches this season. PSG will meet Maccabi Haifa FC on matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League.