Messi nets hat-trick against Eindhoven
If the World Cup had given the impression that Lionel Messi was slipping down football’s pecking order, the Argentine star made it clear he remains at the top of his game.
Messi scored a record eighth Champions League hat trick on yesterday in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven as Europe’s top club competition got under way.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe, the teenage star widely viewed as the man capable of dethroning Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in a near future as the best player in the world, endured a frustrating night in a 3-2 loss for Paris Saint-Germain at Liverpool.
The World Cup winner scored a second-half equaliser but then gave the ball away in stoppage time, a costly mistake that paved the way for Roberto Firmino’s winner.
Messi once again failed in his bid to lift the World Cup trophy this summer in Russia, where he did not play at his best and Argentina lost to France in the round of 16. But Messi is a different player in the Champions League, a competition he has won four times, and in which he has scored 103 goals.
With his hat trick yesterday, he now leads Ronaldo 63-60 in total group-stage goals.
‘‘We were up against Messi, the best in the world,’’ PSV coach Mark van Bommel said.
In the group’s other match, Mauro Icardi volleyed in a superb equaliser for Inter against Tottenham and Matias Vecino headed in the winner in injury time to complete a 2-1 win for the Italian club on its return to Europe’s top competition.
At Anfield, Mbappe scored his 11th Champions League goal since he made his debut in the tournament during the 2016-17 season.
His mistake in stoppage time proved costly for his club, though.
After netting PSG’s equaliser in the 83rd minute, Mbappe was dispossessed by James Milner in the closing stages of the match, giving Liverpool a chance to mount a final attack. Firmino collected a pass from Virgil van Dijk and fired a low shot into the far corner to seal the Reds’ victory.
PSG were down 2-0 after 36 minutes following goals from Daniel Sturridge and Milner but managed to fight back as Thomas Meunier pulled one back before Mbappe levelled. PSG next play Red Star Belgrade, who drew 0-0 with Napoli.