“Greatest player to kick a ball”, “Leave it to him and pray” - Fans salute Lionel Messi as they admire his stunning goal against Toulouse

Lionel Messi scored an absolutely spectacular goal as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) managed to secure a comeback win against Toulouse in Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes. The goal was Messi's 15th across competitions and his 10th in Ligue 1 this season.

Branco van den Boomen gave the visitors a surprise lead with his strike in the 20th minute of the match. Achraf Hakimi equalized for the Parisians in the 38th minute after Carlos Soler set the Moroccan up.

The second half began with the score level at 1-1. Messi found the back of the net in the 58th minute with a peach of a strike from outside the box.

After Hakimi arrived on the edge of the box with a mazy run, Messi took the ball off the former Real Madrid full-back to curl his effort into the bottom right corner with a first-time shot. It was a typical Messi finish with his left foot.

Messi has now scored 39 goals from outside the box in Europe's top five leagues, the most since the start of the 2017-18 season. Kevin De Bruyne is a distant second with 19 goals from outside the box.

Messi's goal proved to be the winner as the Parisians stretched their lead to eight points at the top of the Ligue 1 table, having played one game more than second-placed Marseille. Christophe Galtier's team currently have 54 points from 22 games.

The Parisians will return to action on February 8 as they take on Marseille in a French Cup clash. Their next league fixture will take place on February 11, an away clash against AS Monaco.

Fans on Twitter were stunned by Messi's goal. Many claimed that the Argentine is the greatest player to ever play the game. Others opined that Cristiano Ronaldo could never score such a goal. One fan pointed out that despite creating a handful of chances, Messi ended up with no assists to his name against Toulouse.

Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter after Lionel Messi's spectacular performance in PSG's Ligue 1 win:

Lionel Messi is yet to commit his future to PSG

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Lionel Messi is currently in the final months of his contract with PSG and is yet to sign an extension.

Fabrizio Romano reported after the culmination of the 2022 FIFA World Cup that Messi has a verbal agreement in place with the French Cup.

However, the deal is not yet official. PSG fans will hope the Argentine continues with the club for the foreseeable future. Given his form, the Parisian club will believe they can finally win the UEFA Champions League this season.