Berlin: Lionel Messi struck his first goal for Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday as the French giants gained slight revenge over Manchester City for last season’s Champions League semi-final defeat with a 2-0 group stage win. The 34-year-old Argentine superstar joined PSG from Barcelona this summer as the Qatar-back team splashed the cash in making a serious bid to land a maiden continental title. Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe had relatively quiet games after Idrissa Gueye’s eighth minute opener but that changed in the 74th with a stroke of brilliance, dpa reports.
Surging in from the right, Messi played a one-two with Mbappe at the edge of the box and curled a left foot shot high into the top corner of the net. “I hadn’t been able to play recently and this was only my second game in this stadium,” Messi, who returned from a knee injury, told Canal+. “I’m adapting to my new team. “The more we forwards play together the better our relationship will be. We all need to grow together and improve and keep giving our best.”
It was harsh on City, who made several chances throughout only to be denied by keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, another summer addition, and the woodwork which was struck in a remarkable first-half sequence by Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva. “It was a good performance,” said City boss Pep Guardiola, who managed Messi at Manchester Citya. “We did everything but score.” City’s biggest error in front of goal was Silva somehow hitting the bar with the net open after Sterling found the same spot on the woodwork with his initial effort.
“In these kind of games, those moments are always important,” said Guardiola.”
PSG top Group A on goal difference from Club Brugge, who won 2-1 at bottom side RB Leipzig, who also have four points.
City, on three, are second as they are in the Premier League where on Sunday they head to leaders Liverpool. The Reds will enter that clash on a high after a 5-1 cruise away to Porto to top Group B on six points.
“We had two good performances, applied ourselves well and got results we deserved,” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson told BT Sport. “It’s a good start but it is far from over.”
Antoine Griezmann equalized late for Atletico Madrid at 10-man AC Milan, who had Franck Kessie sent off in the first half, and Luis Suarez completed the 2-1 turnaround win with a handball penalty seven minutes into injury-time.
Record 13-time champions Real Madrid meanwhile were stunned 2-1 at home by Moldovan debutants Sheriff Tiraspol, whose fairytale continues atop Group D.
Luxmbourg international Sebastien Thill struck a glorious 89th minute winner from the edge of the box to secure a second successive victory.
Jasurbek Yakhshiboev had headed Sheriff in front before the break only for Real to level through Karim Benzema’s penalty as they dominated the second half.
Defensive lapses were not heeded though and one late Sheriff goal was ruled out for offside before Thill’s moment of glory.
Real are second in the group on three points while Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan have one each after a 0-0 draw in Ukraine.
And in Group C, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund maintained perfect records 2-0 over Besiktas and 1-0 over Sporting Libson respectively.
