Lionel Messi has entered the history books once more following his contribution for Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday night's win over Brest. The 35-year-old Argentina playmaker assisted Kylian Mbappe to score the winning goal in the away encounter, and became the first-ever player to hit 300 club assists in history.
After disappointingly exiting the UEFA Champions League earlier in the week, many expected PSG to issue a befitting response as the club's attention turns to their domestic league charge. On Wednesday, Les Parisian saw the dream of featuring in their first Champions League final evaporate after losing 3-0 on aggregate to Bayern Munich in the Round of 16.
Unlike the trip to the Allianz Arena, PSG were able to stamp their dominance in Saturday's encounter, and were duly rewarded in the 37th minute when Carlos Soler tap home the game's opening goal. However, just two minutes before half-time, Franck Honorat denied the visitors the lead ahead of the break by scoring the equalizer.
For over 44 minutes in the second half, none of the sides was able to find the game defining moment. But, eventually, Kylian Mbappe produced the goods after racing onto a sensational pass by Lionel Messi to put Ligue 1's defending champions ahead. The latter found the perfect pass for the French star to get on the end and round the Brest goalkeeper for the match-winning goal. Watch:
PSG snatch three points through Kylian Mbappé
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2023
A sweeping move from back to front is finished off by Mbappé, sending the travelling Parisian support home happy... pic.twitter.com/AELqbuJGYO
With the goal, Messi successfully became the first player in history to register 300 club assists, taking his total tally in the history of the sport to 353. The result also reestablished PSG's 10 point lead atop the Ligue 1 table, with title rivals Marseille scheduled to take on Strasbourg on Sunday.