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Lionel Messi started on the bench as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) demolished Reims 4-0 in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The Argentine superstar came into the game in the 63rd minute but could not make an impact on the team's victory.
Messi made his return to the squad after having tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this year. However, the Argentine superstar had to be content with a place on the bench. With a host of players unavailable for the game, Mauricio Pochettino opted to go with a front three consisting of Angel Di Maria, Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe.
Spanish defender Sergio Ramos also made his return to the squad, starting only his second league game since joining Les Parisiens last summer.
The first-half started as expected, with PSG dominating possession of the ball. Pochettino's side went close to breaking the deadlock on multiple occasions, with Di Maria, Mbappe and Danilo Pereira all spurning good chances. Reims also came close through Hugo Ekitike's header in the 35th minute.
However, the scoring was finally opened by an unlikely source in the 44th minute. Marco Verratti followed up Icardi's shot to drive the ball home off the frame of the goal. It was the Italian's first goal of the season and gave the Parisians a deserved lead.
The second half started in the same vein, with PSG dominating most of the possession. However, Reims missed a great opportunity to level the scores as Dion Lopy blazed his shot over the bar after Nathanael Mbuku forced a good save out of Keylor Navas. The miss proved costly as Pochettino's side doubled their lead less than five minutes later.
Sergio Ramos took advantage of some sloppy defending to smash the ball home and double PSG's lead in the 62nd minute of the game. The goal would open the floodgates for the French side as less than five minutes later, Verratti saw his effort deflect off Wout Faes for an own goal.
Faes was in the wrong place at the wrong time again in the 75th minute. Danilo Pereira's strike deflected off the defender and ended up in the back of the net to make it 4-0. PSG could have had a fifth late on in the game as Icardi saw his goal chalked off for a hand-ball before Lionel Messi put one over the bar.
The game ended 4-0 with PSG extending their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 11 points. Pochettino's side look well on their way to winning the league title once again at this rate.
Lionel Messi fails to impress on his PSG return
Lionel Messi replaced Angel Di Maria in the 63rd minute of the game but the Argentine made a rather mooted return to action. The forward has not appeared for the French side since the 1-1 draw against Lorient on the 23rd of December.
Lionel Messi only managed to have one shot in the dying embers of the game, while only completing 74% of his passes on the night. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored just one goal in 12 Ligue 1 games. Here are the best Twitter reactions to PSG and Messi's performance against Reims:
