Paris, September 19 (BNA): Lionel Messi and Neymar needed just five minutes to score Paris Saint-Germain’s goal in their 1-0 win over Lyon in the French Ligue 1 on Sunday, while the leaders Paris Saint-Germain advanced by two points over the second-placed team. Marseille.
Messi started and finished off the impressive move after exchanging passes with Neymar and expertly hit the ball past the desperate drop of goalkeeper Anthony Lopez to score his fourth league goal of the season, the Associated Press reports.
It was Neymar’s seventh pass in the league this season, and his former Barcelona teammates met again moments later as Messi approached.
Neymar was making his 100th league appearance with Paris Saint-Germain, during which time he participated in 121 goals (77 goals and 44 assists).
With the World Cup in Qatar fast approaching, the Brazilian superstar looks fitter than he has in several injury-plagued years since joining from Barcelona for a world record €222 million ($222 million) in 2017.
His partnership with Messi is close to what it was at Barcelona when they shared 299 goals from 2013-17.
Lyon entered the match more in the first half and Alexandre Lacazette hit a shot that was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but he missed a free header from close to the goal.
Messi received a shot that went off the line early in the second half as PSG pressed before fading away. With Lyon enjoying possession of the ball, PSG’s midfield suffered a stretch, and Marco Verratti was knocked out midway through the second half with a hit to his calf.
“It’s a blow,” Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier said. “He was supposed to go and join the (Italian) national team tonight (but) he’s going back to Paris for the tests.”
Paris Saint-Germain responded and Messi’s low shot saved wonderfully from Lopez in the 78th minute, then Lopez saved better to block a twisted free kick for Messi near the end. Neymar looked unhappy with his substitution in the 85th minute and looked gloomy as he looked off the bench.
nice nightmare
Nice defender Jean-Claire Todibo will quickly want to forget this match after he was sent off just nine seconds after his side’s 1-0 home defeat to Angers.
Former Barcelona defender Abdoulaye Sima stumbled while running into the goal and referee Bastien Descheppe did not hesitate to show the fastest red card in the history of the French first division.
Todibo wrote on his Twitter account: “An arbitration decision shocked me and condemned my team to start the match at a very disadvantageous position.” “The referee’s decisions at the start of this season were very questionable and I hope the LFP (Ligue 1) will do something to correct that.”
Angers also finished the match with ten men after midfielder Sofiane Boufal was sent off in the 62nd minute, but Nice was unable to equalize for midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, who scored 20 meters for Angers in the 43rd minute.
Marseille is still unbeaten but lost points in a 1-1 draw with its guest, Rennes, as midfielder Matteo Guendouzi scored at both ends.
Rennes took a lead midway through the first half at the Stade Velodrome when Guendouzi scored an own goal by veering into Hamari Traoré’s cross.
He made amends in the 52nd minute when he came back from a corner kick against former Marseille side Steve Mandanda, who played more than 600 matches for Marseille and led the club for many years.
Other matches
Lens remained fourth – one point behind Lorient – after a 0-0 draw with Nantes in a tough game.
Alexandre Golovin scored at the start of the second half and Takumi Minamino and Wissam Ben Yedder scored a late goal in Fifth-placed Monaco’s 3-0 win over Reims.
Elsewhere, striker Mama Balde scored two goals to lead Troyes conceding an early goal to win 3-1 over Clermont, and Ajaccio of Corsican scored its first victory this season with a 1-0 victory over Brest.