5 times Lionel Messi provided a hat-trick of assists
Lionel Messi inspired PSG to a stunning comeback in the game against Saint-Etienne despite going a goal down quite early. They eventually went on to win the match 3-1 with Messi securing a hat-trick of assists.
Lionel Messi’s PSG career might have begun on a dull note. Despite a U-turn in his contractual proceedings with Barcelona and PSG signing him in the summer, Messi failed to make an impact in Ligue 1 from the word go.
Lionel Messi made his debut for the Parisian club, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 0-2 win over Reims. Niggles and injuries made it difficult for him to begin life in France with a bang. He had to wait until September 29 to score his first goal for a club not named Barcelona.
When the goal arrived against Manchester City in the Champions League, it proved to be marvelous. He also went on to record goal contributions against RB Leipzig, scoring a brace in front of the home crowd at Parc des Princes.
Lionel Messi scored his first Ligue 1 goal against Nantes
However, Lionel Messi didn’t have a Ligue 1 goal to his name until last week. Against Nantes, he embarked on a superb run and then coolly finished the move off from outside the box with a swerving shot to fool the opposition goalkeeper.
Despite being underwhelming over the last couple of months, the Argentine remains among the hot favorites to win the Ballon d’ Or.
By this point, almost every football fan is aware of the fact that there’s more to Lionel Messi’s game than just goals.
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Besides being a prolific scorer, Messi is also one of the greatest playmakers of all time. He has been dropping deeper to see more of the ball with every season and he ends up setting up plenty of chances for his team-mates.
This play-making ability was on full display against Saint-Etienne, where Messi helped PSG secure a stellar comeback win.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner went on to register a hat-trick of assists. Curiously enough, this was the fifth time he achieved this milestone in his glorious football career.
Without further ado, let’s discuss the games in which Lionel Messi provided a hat-trick of assists to his team-mates:
#5 Levante vs Barcelona, Copa del Rey, 2014
This was Lionel Messi’s 400th appearance for Barcelona and he celebrated the occasion in style. Messi provided three assists for the first time in his professional football career.
The Argentine found gaps in the Levante defence with deadly accuracy and he provided two through balls and a lobbed ball from right to left.
Messi has registered a hat trick of assists for every team he's played for. Barcelona, Argentina, and now PSG.
All the passes were meant for Cristian Tello who was breaking into the first-team of Barcelona back then. Tello grabbed a simple hat-trick with Messi being the provider on each occasion.
Notably, the score was level at 1-1 before Messi weaved his magic wand and turned the game around.
#4 Argentina vs Paraguay, Copa America, 2015
While the lazy narrative suggests that Lionel Messi underperforms with the Argentine national team, those misconceptions were put to rest with the Copa America victory this summer.
Led by Messi, Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 in the final at Maracana to lift their first trophy in 28 years.
However, this wasn’t the first time Messi had appeared in a Copa America final. He was instrumental in the Albiceleste teams that reached the final of the continental competition in 2007, 2015 and 2016. But Argentina ended up falling short on all three occasions.
Lionel Messi was rampant in the 2015 Copa America which was held in Chile. In fact, in the semi-final against Paraguay, Messi set up Marcos Rojo’s opener from a free-kick. He then provided the final passes from which Javier Pastore and Gonzalo Higuain scored to seal a monumental 6-1 victory.