Lionel Messi has come under pressure in recent weeks — he incredibly was booed by fans of his own club, PSG — but he showed once more against Lens why he's still a difference-maker for club and country at age 35.
Messi scored a goal and started the plays that led to two others as PSG beat second-place Lens 3-1 at the Parc des Princes to extend their lead atop the Ligue 1 table and virtually clinch the French title.
Messi's goal was the most spectacular of the day as PSG took full advantage of a red card to the visitors and wrapped up the match by halftime.
The PSG star is now up to 15 goals to go with 14 assists in the French league. Combine those numbers with his five goals and four assists in other competitions, and Messi has more than carried his weight in a season in which he also won the World Cup.
Messi stats in 2022/23
| Competition | Matches | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ligue 1 | 26 | 15 | 14 | 2,302 |
| UEFA Champions League | 7 | 4 | 4 | 615 |
| Coupe de France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 90 |
| Trophee des Champions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 90 |
| TOTALS | 35 | 20 | 18 | 3,097 |
MORE: Why it's now or never for Messi to make his move to MLS in USA
How did Messi play today vs Lens?
It was a typical match for Messi these days as he went the full 90. He hovered high in the attack, usually operating centrally with Kylian Mbappe to his left and Carlos Soler to his right.
Messi was patient, waiting for the game to come to him. He operated in the pocket between the Lens midfielders and defenders, often coming back into midfield to get a touch on the ball or switch the attack.
But Lens were bossing the proceedings before a 19th-minute red card shown to the visitors killed their momentum.
Le RC Lens devra évoluer 70 minutes à 10 ! #PSGRCL pic.twitter.com/TT7VhL4G47
— Free Ligue 1 (@FreeLigue1) April 15, 2023
PSG capitalised on the man advantage and began to assert themselves, led by Messi, who kick-started combination plays and give-and-go moves in midfield. It was on one of those moves the PSG got their opener on 31 minutes.
Messi goal vs Lens
Messi started the play from deep and drove a ball with pace into the attack. He continued his run, signaling to the PSG attack to activate. The ball wound up at Mbappe's feet and the Frenchman finished with aplomb.
After Vitinha scored his first goal in a PSG shirt on a 37th-minute effort from distance to make it 2-0 (after a Messi corner kick), Messi scored PSG's third goal in the 40th minute to put the match out of reach.
Messi started another accelerated move into Mbappe at the top of the box, and the Frenchman returned a pass with a silky backheel. Messi applied the first-time touch to tuck it inside the far post.
Here's the fan cam view from the stands:
Legend Messi's goal from the stands pic.twitter.com/KLD0vaX5Dp
— Nardin🏅🏆 (@mhmd_knz) April 15, 2023
The second half was quiet from PSG and Messi, who were content to manage the rest of the game without ever really dialing up the pressure.
MORE: How many goals has Messi scored in his career?
Lionel Messi stats vs Lens
As has been the case for most of the season, there was no notable pressing from Messi or any of his PSG attackers and midfielders, which meant Lens had plenty of time on the ball even when they were down to 10 men.
It's worth noting that in addition to being stuffed a few times in and around the top of the box, Messi was spared an early yellow card for stopping a promising Lens attack.
He earned a 7.6 rating from SofaScore (tied for third-best), an 8.4 from FotMob (third-best), and a 7.9 from WhoScored (third-best).
Messi stats vs Lens (per SofaScore)
- Goals: 1 (Expected goals: 0.43)
- Assists: 0
- Key passes: 3 (2 key passes in 1st half)
- Total shots: 5 (3 shots in 1st half)
- Shots on target: 1 (4 shots blocked)
- Touches: 98 (40 touches in 1st half)
- Dribbles: 2 of 2
- Passing: 71 of 82 for 87% accuracy [30 of 33 (1st half)/41 of 49 (2nd half)]
- Lost possessions: 20 (6 lost in 1st half)
- Ground duels won: 2 of 8 (1 of 3 in 1st half)
MORE: All the trophies that Lionel Messi has won in his career
How many goals has Messi scored for PSG?
Messi is now up to 15 Ligue 1 goals, just five away from teammate Kylian Mbappe, who leads the league with 20.
Ligue 1 top scorers 2022/23
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals (Pens) | Assists | Matches | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 20 (2) | 4 | 27 | 2,192 |
| 2. | Alexandre Lacazette | Lyon | 19 (5) | 4 | 28 | 2,307 |
| Jonathan David | LOSC Lille | 19 (6) | 4 | 29 | 2,471 | |
| 4. | Folarin Balogun | Stade Reims | 18 (5) | 2 | 30 | 2,386 |
| 5. | Wissam Ben Yedder | AS Monaco | 17 (4) | 4 | 26 | 1,647 |
| 6. | Terem Moffi | Lorient / Nice | 16 (1) | 2 | 26 | 2,053 |
| 7. | Lionel Messi | PSG | 15 (0) | 14 | 26 | 2,302 |
| Lois Openda | RC Lens | 15 (0) | 2 | 31 | 1,958 | |
| Habib Diallo | Strasbourg | 15 (1) | 0 | 30 | 2,253 |
