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Lionel Messi has come under fire for his performance in Paris Saint-Germain’s humiliating defeat to Real Madrid.
PSG crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday night after losing 3-1 at the Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappe had put the French side ahead of the night, and 2-0 up in the last 16 tie, with a superb finish in the first half.
But a magnificent second-half hat-trick from Karim Benzema, which included two goals in just 12 seconds, secured a memorable comeback for Madrid, who progress to the last eight of the competition with a 3-2 aggregate win.
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It is familiar story in the Champions League for PSG, who have suffered similar capitulations against Barcelona and Manchester United in recent years.
Unlike Mbappe, former Barcelona forward Messi struggled to make an impact against Madrid.
The closest he came to scoring in the second leg was a free-kick from distance in the closing stages of the match, which narrowly went over Thibaut Courtois’ goal.
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Messi had also missed a penalty in the reverse fixture at the Parc des Princes and fans have accused the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner of ‘ghosting’ in PSG’s most important match of the season.
“Messi missing a penalty and ghosting in 180 minutes against Madrid in the UCL but you won’t hear anything about cos it’s not [Cristiano] Ronaldo,” wrote one fan on Twitter.
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Another added: “Messi has been constantly ghosting big games in the Champions League since 2015 and it's about time we talk about it...He is FINISHED.”
Topics: Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Champions League, Football
