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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were held to a 2-2 draw by Troyes at home as Lionel Messi endured another frustrating encounter in the French capital. The former Barcelona man was reportedly training by himself ahead of the game at the Parc des Princes but was named in the starting XI by Mauricio Pochettino. He was joined by Angel di Maria, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in attack as the newly-crowned Ligue 1 champions looked to finish their season on a high.
PSG captain Marquinhos broke the deadlock in the sixth minute as he got to the end of a cross from Di Maria, much to the delight of the home faithful. The Parisians piled on the pressure and doubled their advantage from the penalty spot through Neymar, who converted the spot-kick after Mbappe was fouled inside the box.
Fans across the world expected Messi to step up and take the penalty, but Neymar was seemingly tasked with penalty duties on the night as he made no mistake from six yards out.
Troyes didn't play badly by any stretch of the imagination and struck back through Ike Ugbo, who latched on to a terrible backpass from Nuno Mendes to finish emphatically from inside the penalty area.
Messi fails to add to his goal tally for PSG
Messi could have got his name on the scoresheet in the first half, but his shot from inside the penalty area just before halftime ricocheted off the post.
PSG went into the interval with a deserved lead, but the away side showed their resilience by completing the comeback. Troyes were awarded a penalty after Presnel Kimpembe's foul, and Florian Tardieu converted brilliantly from the spot to restore parity on the night.
Neymar did put the ball into the back of the net after latching onto a kind ricochet, but the goal was ruled out upon consultation with the VAR as Mbappe was adjudged to have committed a foul in the build-up.
Late in the game, Messi's deflected shot rattled the crossbar, as he was denied agonizingly for the second time in the game. Troyes fought hard to secure a well-deserved point, as they boosted their prospects of avoiding relegation from Ligue 1.
On that note, here are some of the best tweets from the game.
