With Lionel Messi Still resting in Argentina after his Qatar 2022 World Cup consecration, the Paris Saint Germain missed a golden opportunity at championship 1 when he was defeated on his visit to Lens.

The Parisian side lost 3-1 on their trip to northern France against the union guard, who now has just four points away instead of the 10 that Christophe Galtier could have obtained.

Not only Messi was missing from PSG, but also the Brazilian neymar who was sent off in the previous match against Strasbourg, in which PSG reached the an agonizing 2-1 win with one player less thanks to a goal from Killian Babe penalty in the sixth minute of added time in the second half. Yes, that one game against an opponent who won only one game in Ligue 1 2022-2023 It was also complicated for those of Galtier.

As much as Bape, scorer of the last World Cup, Neymar and another World Cup like the Spaniard Pablo Sarabiain a PSG that It is difficult for him to guarantee the invincible fences It is difficult for him when his ace of clubs, the best footballer of the 21st century, Lionel Messi, is not in the attack.

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How did PSG do when Lionel Messi didn’t play?

In the 2022-2023 season, Lionel Messi did not play in five of the 24 games that PSG have played so far.

The French club succeeded with the Argentine 16 wins and two drawsin addition to stay invincible to this extent. PSG’s last defeat with Messi dates back to his early days March 2022in the Dismissal against Real Madrid in the Champions League. In fact, since Messi signed for PSG in mid-2021, he has only missed five of the games he has played for the club.

On the other hand, when Messi was not on the pitch due to injury or other reason, PSG’s numbers are much worse. In this season it only accumulates two wins, two draws and one loss without Messiwith 53% spot efficiency away from The 92% they have with Messi.

ONE 1-1 draw against Benfica in Paris for the Champions League which ended up costing PSG first place in the group stage of the continental competition, the defeat by LensThe 0-0 draw against Reims as a guest and the wins for a tight 2-1 against Lorient and Strasbourgboth set at the end of the game, are Galtier’s results without Messi in 2022-2023.

In none of these matches did PSG manage to score more than two goals he succeeded in 11 of the 19 games Messi played, a very high number. The Argentine participated, with a goal or an assist, in 26 of the 66 goals scored by PSG this season39.3%.