Lionel Messi has been heavily criticized by the international press after Paris Saint-Germain’s 1-0 win over Real Madrid.
The 34-year-old missed a penalty in the 62nd minute of the last-minute triumph over the royals in the round of 16 first leg. The celebrated hero is Kylian Mbappe, who in the fourth minute of stoppage time caused the Prinzenpark to tremble with his goal after a nice individual performance.
“The Argentine is far from what he played for FC Barcelona,” wrote the Catalan Sports world about Messi still trying to find his form in Paris. He has scored just two goals in 14 league games since joining the French capital on a free transfer from Barcelona. In the premier class he has at least five goals.
The Italian gazettes go one step further. “Messi flops,” he headlines Corriere dello Sport. the Tuttosport underlines that another player deserves thanks for the win: “Messi is wrong, Mbappe is not.”
The Spanish one is a little more gracious Sport: “Messi was PSG’s offensive engine and served dangerous balls to Mbappe.However, the newspaper concedes: “It lacks speed but retains a wonderful touch.”
On March 9th, Messi can give his critics the lie. Then he plays with PSG for the second leg in Madrid at the Bernabeu for the quarter-finals ticket.
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