Paris Saint-Germain entered the history of the French Championship this Saturday after their draw on the lawn of Strasbourg (1-1). Under the eyes of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the Parisians won the club’s eleventh league title. No one has done better in France. Paris will not have been brilliant, but did the minimum thanks to Lionel Messi, as a symbol, scorer for the title when he will leave the club in a month. Valiant Strasbourg ended up equalizing by Kevin Gameiro at the end of the match to ensure their maintenance in Ligue 1.
The game: 1-1
In a Meinau stadium which will have perfectly celebrated the last appearance of its team, Paris Saint-Germain had a lot of trouble getting into its match. It was Strasbourg who proved to be the most dangerous, thanks to Habib Diallo (14th, 22nd). The striker even found the post on a shot from 25 meters (38th). Despite having possession of the ball, PSG didn’t play with huge pace. It took until the 29th minute to see Renato Sanches put pressure on Matz Sels, author of a superb save on a recovery from the Portuguese.
Paris did not resume the meeting after the break with much more conviction. But as often, Christophe Galtier’s men made the difference thanks to their individuality. On a superb service from Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi opened the scoring with his left foot (1-0, 59th). The Argentinian was not far from returning the favor to his teammate, but the French missed his gesture in front of the goal (69th). The Strasbourgeois will have had the merit of never letting go, and logically came back to score on a small dive from Kevin Gameiro, for what should be his last match at La Meinau (1-1, 79th).
Player: Lionel Messi
How to judge Lionel Messi’s season? There is the general impression of a player who has not given the fullness of his talent, which was again the case this Saturday. There are also statistics. The Argentinian scored his 21st goal in all competitions for PSG this season, his 16th in Ligue 1. To this must be added 20 assists (16 in L1), for a record that would be considered enormous for any another Championship player. With 496 goals since the start of his career, the Pulga has become the top scorer in the five major European leagues, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (495). The French public will now only have the right to one last dance next Saturday at the Parc des Princes, against Clermont.
The fact: the tribute to Dimitri Liénard
At 35, after ten years at the club, Dimitri Liénard is preparing – perhaps – to leave Strasbourg at the end of his contract in a month. The Strasbourg supporters paid him a superb tribute at the start of the second period with a sublime tifo, at the height of what the midfielder represents in Alsace. Enough to make the Frenchman cry on the bench.