Messi savaged by French press
Lionel Messi endured a torrid 90 minutes in Paris Saint-Germain's tight 1-0 Champions League victory against Real Madrid on Tuesday night – so much so that his performance on the pitch was graded with a paltry 3 out of 10 by French newspaper L'Equipe.
A brilliant late strike from the potentially Real Madrid-bound Kylian Mbappe was enough to claim a first leg win for the French hosts in a game billed as a clash between two of football's most cash-rich superpowers – but a host of the superstars on show failed to live up to their billing, Messi included.
L'Equipe, a publication well known for pulling no punches when it comes to player ratings, savaged Messi's showing in the Parc des Princes in which he missed a second-half penalty after Madrid's Dani Carvajal (who received a 2 out of 10, by the way) brought down Mbappe in the box.
Thibault Courtois got the better of the Argentine ace, diving to his left to deny Messi from the spot.
This proved to be the story of Messi's night as the former Barcelona man renewed his rivalry with Real Madrid – with L'Equipe even saying that there is is something "sad" about seeing the suddenly goal-shy Messi play at the moment.
"There's something sad about seeing him like that," they wrote. "In the first period, in this position almost as a midfielder, the Argentinian was available but he missed so narrowly (with the exception of his pass for Mbappe.)
"In the one-on-one, he suffered the athletic impact. His second period is better: he provides some effective relays.
"But he weighs down his record with his failed or blocked attempts (53rd, 75th) and this penalty saved. This Messi is worrying."
By contrast, the PSG duo of Mbappe and Marco Verratti were awarded 8 out of 10 while none of Real Madrid's outfield Galacticos could muster more than a 6.
Former England international Gary Lineker, though, said it is perhaps unfair to continue to expect miracles from an ageing Messi.
"Messi is 35 in June. Ronaldo has just turned 37. We should probably lower our expectations. They still do wonderful things, but not even these footballing Gods can defy father time forever," he wrote on Twitter.
"Messi is not at his best yet, but that also means there is room for improvement. The 3/10 of [L'Equipe] is a bit harsh though," added reporter Guillem Balague.
Another summed up L'Equipe's appraisal of Messi more succinctly: "L'Equipe hates Messi. The past showed that."
