On Saturday, Lionel Messi was presented to a packed stadium of Paris Saint-Germain fans before watching his club beat Strasbourg 4-2 in Ligue 1 with Kylian Mbappe playing a key part.
Despite the welcome ceremony taking place an hour before kick-off, Messi received a standing ovation as he raced out onto the pitch alongside PSG’s other summer additions, with a 48,000-strong crowd applauding the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
On a platform put up on the ground at the Parc des Princes, Messi joined fellow newcomers Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum, and Achraf Hakimi, and the spectacular presentation ceremony threatened to overshadow the match itself.
Later, the Argentine, along with Neymar and Angel di Maria, sat in the stands as Mauricio Pochettino’s side won their second Ligue 1 encounter of the season, despite the trio not yet being judged match-fit following their participation in the Copa America.
Mauro Icardi and Julian Draxler scored either side of a Ludovic Ajorque own goal to put them up 3-0 at halftime, but Kevin Gameiro and Ajorque scored after the break to pull the visitors back into the game.
After Strasbourg was reduced to ten men in the first match played in front of a full crowd at the Parc des Princes since the Covid-19 outbreak struck in March last year, Pablo Sarabia sealed the victory late on.
“With everything going on at the club, it was difficult to keep focused on the game,” Pochettino said to Canal Plus.
