France Returning from suspension for his trip to Saudi Arabia, striker Lionel Messi continued to be booed in PSG's 5-0 win over Ajaccio in round 35 of Ligue 1.
On May 2, PSG announced that Messi would be suspended for two weeks, both in training and official matches, because he flew with his family to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and was absent from the previous training session. However, the Argentine star had his suspension reduced, returned to training at the beginning of the week and started against Ajaccio.
But in the stands at the Parc des Princes, fans whistled and booed Messi. According to Spanish newspaper Marca , the crowd even criticized Messi "with more intensity than usual".
On his return, Messi touched the ball 92 times, passed 86% accurately with two key passes, shot three times, and successfully dribbled four times. He lost the ball 21 times and did not assist or score.
Messi dribbles the ball during the win over Ajaccio at Parc des Princes on May 13. Photo: psg.fr
Messi's most memorable moment was when he dribbled the ball outside the penalty area and was brought down by an Ajaccio player in the 77th minute. This situation sparked a fight and brawl between the two teams. Achraf Hakimi pushed Thomas Mangani hard and received a straight red card, while Marquinhos and Vincent Marchetti both received yellow cards. After going to the sidelines to review the video, referee Pierre Gaillouste upheld the penalty for Hakimi and gave Mangani a red card.
On a day when Messi did not shine, PSG still dominated with 73% possession, 16 shots with nine on target - compared to seven and two for the visitors. In which, Kylian Mbappe scored twice to take his Ligue 1 goal tally to 26 this season.
In the 47th minute, from a chaotic situation in the penalty area, the French striker finished with his left foot, defeating goalkeeper Francois-Joseph Sollacaro. Less than 10 minutes later, from Sergio Ramos' long pass, the Ajaccio center-back failed to clear it, creating an opportunity for Mbappe to volley into the roof of the net.
Mbappe scored in PSG's win over Ajaccio at Parc des Princes on May 13. Photo: psg.fr
Thanks to that, Mbappe reached the 25-goal mark in Ligue 1 for the fourth time, after the 2018-2019, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023 seasons. He is the second French player to achieve this feat after World War II, after the late striker Thadee Cisowski (1955-1956, 1956-1957, 1958-1959, 1959-1960).
PSG's remaining goals were scored by Achraf Hakimi, Fabian Ruiz and an own goal by Mohamed Youssouf. With a 5-0 victory, the Paris club firmly established themselves at the top of the table with 81 points, six points ahead of Lens with only three rounds left of the season.
In the next round, PSG will be crowned champions if they win at Auxerre, while Lens lose points against Lorient.
Line-up :
PSG : Donnarumma, Marquinhos, Sergio Ramos, Danilo Pereira (Bitshiabu 70), Hakimi, Verratti (Vitinha 64), Fabian Ruiz (Sanches 64), Bernat (Zaire Emery 83), Messi, Mbappe, Ekitike (Soler 83).
Ajaccio : Sollacaro, Diallo (Alphonse 71), Vidal, Avinel, Youssouf, Spadanuda (Chegra 63), Coutadeur (Soumano 63), Mangani, Marchetti, Barreto (Chabrolle 83), El- Idrissy (Nouri 64).
Hong Duy
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