Topics: Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League
He's done it again. Lionel Messi has produced a first-half masterclass in the Champions League, with a wonderful outside-of-the-boot finish against Maccabi Haifa being one of the highlights.
It took the Argentine just 18 minutes to open his account on Tuesday night. After cutting back on his left foot, Fabian Ruiz lofted the ball over to Messi, who attempted to head it down to Kylian Mbappe.
The pass was then intercepted by a Maccabi defender but after a scrappy piece of play, Mbappe managed to poke the ball towards teammate Messi, who guided the ball home with little-to-no backlift.
He's just too good.
Messi, who has netted 19 goals in 19 games for the reigning Ligue 1 champions this season, has now netted 10 goals in all competitions for the 17th consecutive campaign.
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And the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner bagged himself another goal before the half-time whistle with a cracking effort from outside the box.
Gary Lineker commented on the goal, saying: "Messi strikes again with a wonderful goal. The most typically Messi goal you’re likely to see."
In terms of the action after PSG's opener, Kylian Mbappe made it 2-0 in the 19th minute before Neymar got in on the action after some great work from the former Barcelona forward.
Maccabi Haifa managed to pull one back through Abdoulaye Seck but the brilliance of Messi took the shine off moments later.
Here's how social media reacted to Messi's masterclass in the first half.
One fan said: "Messi is so ready for Qatar man," while another commented: "Messi makes world class goals scoring look so easy. Another out of the box excellent finish by the Argentine maestro."
A third wrote: "Messi is crazy. Being the best player in the world at age 35 is something we’ll never see again."
Thoughts on Messi's performance at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night?
Let us know in the comments.
