Lionel Messi scores to secure Paris Saint Germain victory over Toulouse

CNN
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Paris Saint-Germain have struggled in recent games, relatively speaking, but luckily for the Paris club, Lionel Messi has been in fine form.

The Argentine was once again in the bullseye on Saturday, scoring in the second half to secure a 2-1 victory for PSG against Toulouse.

The victory extends PSG’s lead over Ligue 1 leaders Marseille to eight points, even though Christophe Galtier’s side have won just two of their last five league games.

Branco van den Boomen opened the scoring in the 20th minute to give Toulouse an unexpected lead in Paris, but before the break Achraf Hakimi equalized.

With Neymar and Kylian Mbappé both out injured, it fell to Messi to make that telling contribution to the home side.

And in the 58th minute, Messi put his name on the scoresheet, slotting into the bottom corner from outside the box for his 10th league goal of the season and a third in his last five league games. .

The World Cup winner also came close to the second, hitting the post in stoppage time.

“Lionel was our engine, he scored and created chances. I ask the team to play for him,” Galtier said, according to Reuters.

“His teammates need to try harder defensively to give him more freedom to create movement and opportunities.”