PSG OFF TO A MESSI START

Lionel Messi playing for PSG in the Champions League. Picture: Lars Baron/Getty

LIONEL Messi made his first Paris Saint-Germain start in a 1-1 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League on Thursday, while last season’s runners-up Manchester City (6-3 v RB Leipzig) and 2019 winner Liverpool (3-2 v AC Milan) won high-scoring thrillers.

Real Madrid, the record 13-time European champions, left it late to beat

Inter Milan at the San Siro in a section topped by Moldovan debutants Sheriff Tiraspol after the first round of group stage matches.

Argentine star Messi lined up with both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for the first time, after being limited to just 24 minutes in a PSG shirt since his shock exit from Barcelona.

Ander Herrera, who scored twice in the weekend win against Clermont, gave PSG the lead by steering in Mbappe’s cross on 15 minutes, but Brugge soon levelled through Hans Vanaken.

“We need time for them to get to know each other,” PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said of his all-star attack. “We have to improve and find the right balance.”