Fans of PSG boo Ajaccio as Messi returns

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is reportedly moving to Saudi Arabia, so this was probably his farewell appearance in Paris. The Argentine once again received jeers with his early touches.

With a 5-0 victory over Ajaccio at home on Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain drew closer to a record 11th French league championship. Lionel Messi’s return from suspension was met with mixed reactions.

At the Parc des Princes, Fabian Ruiz scored the first goal after 22 minutes, Achraf Hakimi added a second, and Kylian Mbappe scored twice soon after the break.

With his own goal, Mohamed Youssouf made it a horrible night for the Corsicans. Hakimi and Thomas Mangani, a midfielder for Ajaccio, were also dismissed after a late altercation.

After regaining a six-point lead over Lens in second place, PSG needs four points from their next three games against Auxerre, Strasbourg, and Clermont to win the Ligue 1 championship.

When Messi’s name was announced prior to kickoff following his club-imposed suspension for last weekend’s game due to an unauthorized vacation to Saudi Arabia, there were both boos and cheers.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is reportedly moving to Saudi Arabia, so this was probably his farewell appearance in Paris. The Argentine once again received jeers with his early touches.

Ajaccio provided no resistance as their relegation to Ligue 2 was confirmed, while Lens was able to maintain their implausible title race thanks to three losses in their previous four home games for PSG.

Danilo’s threaded pass was glanced into Ruiz’s path, and the Spain midfielder took a few deft moves before putting the ball in the back of the net with a crisp finish for his second goal in as many games.

On May 13, 2023, at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France, during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Ajaccio, Brazilian defender Marquinhos (C) is applauded by teammates. (Image courtesy of AFP/Anne-Christine POUJOULAT)

Francois-Joseph Sollacaro parried Mbappe’s shot, and Hakimi swept in the rebound. The goal was upheld despite Mbappe using his arm to control the play in the build-up.

Early in the second half, Mbappe reached the 25-goal plateau for a fourth time. After a scuffle in the area, he slid the ball past Sollacaro to retake the lead as the league’s leading scorer this season.

A few minutes later, after Sergio Ramos’ long pass forward deflected off the head of a backsliding defender, he unleashed an excellent first-time volley to score PSG’s fourth.

After a needless altercation sparked by a challenge on Messi, Youssouf unluckily diverted a shot from Marquinhos into his own net on the 73rd minute, and both teams finished with 10 players.

After getting into a fight with Mangani that also resulted in Hakimi’s dismissal against Lorient two weeks ago, Hakimi was given his second red card in as many games.

Strasbourg is propelled by Express Diallo
Habib Diallo, a forward from Senegal, scored both goals as Strasbourg defeated Nice 2-0 in the first minute of a Ligue 1 match for the third time this season.

Diallo increased his season goal total to 20 and gave Strasbourg their fourth win in five games, moving them six points clear of the drop zone.

He has scored more than two-thirds of his goals since January, when Strasbourg was in the bottom two and had just won once in 18 games.

He controlled Ibrahima Sissoko’s long pass over the defense and drove past Kasper Schmeichel to score his first goal against Nice after just 40 seconds.

Following Jordan Lotomba’s foul on Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in the area on the hour, Diallo added a second from the penalty spot.

He is the first player from Strasbourg to score 20 goals in the Premier League since 1977–1978.

AFP