"A source of pride to play against him" - PSG superstar hailed as the 'best player in the world' by Toulouse defender
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) came from a goal down to secure a hard-fought home victory against French side Toulouse over the weekend.
Dutch midfielder Branco Van den Boomen opened the scoring for Toulouse in the 20th minute with Achraf Hakimi drawing the home side level 18 minutes later.
However, it took a spectacular effort from Lionel Messi to seal the game for PSG courtesy of a wonderful strike in the 58th minute.
Achraf Hakimi lifted Lionel Messi off the ground 😅 https://t.co/CwaQH36CpQ
The Argentine came to the rescue of the French giants in the absence of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. It was also his 10th strike in Ligue 1 this season.
Speaking after the game, Toulouse defender Gabriel Suazo was full of praise for the 35-year-old forward as seen in PSG Talk. The 25-year-old right-back went on to add that it was a pleasure for him to play against Messi despite being on the losing end.
"Simply put, they are beautiful things that football gives you," he said. "You have to take advantage of them and enjoy them.
"Obviously, on the pitch, you always want to be more important and better for your team to win, but having Leo in front is always a pleasure and a source of pride to be able to play against him.
Suazo also revealed that Messi is the best player in the world and that his team lost the game due to the exceptional brilliance of the Argentine forward.
"He is the best player in the world for a reason and he has those characteristics," he continued. "Unfortunately, due to a goal from him we couldn’t get the tie.
"I think we created several situations to be able to at least get a draw. These types of players solve matches suddenly, with a touch, with a shot that you don’t even expect. This is how these players are who make a difference in details.”
Messi is currently in the final months of his contract at PSG. It's also left to be seen if the Argentine will extend his stay at the Parc de Princess beyond the ongoing 2022-23 football campaign.
"I ask the team to play for him" - Christophe Galtier speaks about PSG forward
Messi made the headlines all over the weekend as his sublime second-half strike helped his team secure a 2-1 league win against Toulouse.
The Argentine legend this time around showed his class in the absence of Mbappe and Neymar, who were out injured for the home team.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier on Lionel Messi: "I ask the team to play and work for Leo Messi. To free him of certain tasks, to make him as comfortable as possible. [...] His team mates should not rely on him but work more to allow him to make his passes." Via Le Parisien. 🇦🇷 https://t.co/i7ztLf5REk
Speaking after the hard-fought victory, head coach Christophe Galtier revealed that Messi is exempt from certain tasks at PSG. In his words, as seen in Goal, he said:
"I ask the team to play for Leo and work for him. "He must be exempted from certain tasks.
"His partners must redouble their efforts to recover and create movement so that he can find passes, which are so rare in today's football, in such small spaces."
Messi will next be seen in action when PSG take the field in the Round of 16 clash of the French Cup against Marseille on Wednesday, February 8.