Lionel Messi has just scored his first Ligue 1 goal for Paris Saint-Germain.Since leaving his boyhood club Barcelona in the summer, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner has been widely criticised on social media for not being able to find the net in France's top-flight.Despite playing alongside Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, Messi hasn't necessarily been as effective in the league as you'd expect despite having shone in the Champions League.
PSG vs Nantes
However, that all changed as Nantes made the trip to the Parc des Princes on Saturday afternoon with Messi breaking his Ligue 1 duck in typically fantastic fashion.
The Parisians had experienced more than a few wobbles during the game with Keylor Navas picking up a red card and Nantes having equalised despite Mbappe finding the net early on.
But the luck turned in PSG's favour when Dennis Appiah's attempted interception of a Messi pass into the final third saw him score one of the wildest own goals that we've seen all season.
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Messi scores his first Ligue 1 goal
And while PSG could certainly feel very fortunate to have regained the lead in such unbelievable circumstances, there was nothing lucky about the way it set the stage for Messi to score.
The 34-year-old might not have announced himself to Ligue 1 with a Puskas Award contender, but it should come as absolutely no surprise that he found the net with a typically superb individual goal.
Picking up the ball as he raced towards the penalty area, Messi whipped a typically inch-perfect finish into the far corner for a goal that was truly worth the wait. Enjoy the finish in all its glory here:
It's almost as though Messi is one of the greatest footballers of all time or something.
Slow start? No need to worry
While the Argentine certainly will have been disappointed that it took him six games to open his Ligue 1 account, you really get the feeling that his maiden strike will start to open the floodgates.
Besides, you only have to look at the 2020/21 season where Messi accelerated from an open-play goal drought to Ballon d'Or contention to see that his slow starts aren't worth worrying about.
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If anything, it just makes you wonder exactly what the 34-year-old will be able to achieve when he really finds his rhythm for PSG because it can only spell disaster for anybody who stands in his way.
