Lionel Messi did not feature in Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-1 loss to Ligue 1 title rivals Lens on New Year’s Day – leaving supporters wondering where the World Cup winner is.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 title credentials are in doubt after they suffered a 3-1 defeat at rivals Lens on New Year’s Day.

The hosts took a fifth-minute lead at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis through Przemyslaw Frankowski before Hugo Ekitike hit an immediate equaliser for PSG. Lens restored their advantage through Lois Openda and Alexis Claude Maurice’s strike shortly after half-time completed the victory.

Sunday night’s result means Lens are just four points behind leaders PSG in the Ligue 1 title race. Supporters of the capital club will be wondering why Lionel Messi – Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain – was given an extended break after the tournament.

Messi will not return to training until Monday or Tuesday, as he was given a two-week break after the World Cup. In comparison, Kylian Mbappe – who scored a hat-trick for losers France in the World Cup final – has not missed any of PSG’s post-tournament games.

Some of Argentina’s other World Cup winners have already returned to action. Cristian Romero featured in Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on New Year’s Day, and Julian Alvarez came off the bench in Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Everton 24 hours earlier.

PSG boss Christophe Galtier confirmed Messi’s lengthy break ahead of his team’s 2-1 win against Strasbourg on December 28, which was their first fixture after the World Cup. PSG needed a last-minute goal from Mbappe to clinch the points in that game.

“There are individual cases with the players who went very far,” Galtier told reporters. “Achraf Hakimi played in every game at the World Cup for Morocco. He was in the team of the World Cup. He wanted to get back as quickly as possible, as did Kylian Mbappe.

“He also turned in some brilliant performances and was the top goalscorer at the World Cup. After speaking to him and all my different teams who stayed in regular contact with the players, Kylian Mbappe wanted to join back up with us pretty quickly.

“There could be a time when Achraf Hakimi and Kylian Mbappe need to rest. Not necessarily physically, but definitely mentally. As for Leo Messi, who had a brilliant tournament, given they won the competition, he went back to Argentina for the celebrations.

“We made the decision to give him until 1 January, so he will be back here with us on the second or third to get back into the swing of things after 13 or 14 days off.”

Messi is vital to PSG’s hopes. He’s scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions this season, helping them win the Trophee des Champions and reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. They will take on Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the latter competition.

Messi could make his comeback in the Coupe de France fixture at Chateauroux on Friday. Alternatively, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s first game back in France could be PSG’s Ligue 1 clash against Angers at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, January 11.

 

Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/