Lionel Messi and Neymar needed just five minutes to put together the goal with which Paris Saint-Germain beat Lyon 1-0 on Sunday, a win that put the club two points above Marseille in the French league lead.
Messi scored his fourth goal of the campaign with a low shot that beat Portuguese goalkeeper Anthony Lopez after a combination of short passes with Neymar.
It was the seventh assist for Brazilian Neymar in the league this season. The two former teammates at Barcelona made a wall again shortly after the Argentine Messi was close to making it happen.
Neymar has 100 games with PSG, in which he has participated for 121 goals (77 goals and 44 assists).
As the World Cup in Qatar approaches, the Brazilian star is showing his best form in years. His stay at PSG had been marred by frequent injuries since his arrival from Barcelona in a historic 222 million euro ($222 million) transfer in 2017.
The association between Neymar and Messi has approached the level it had at Barcelona, a club in which both shared 299 goals from 2013 to 2017.
Lyon had its best chances in the first half, France’s Alexandre Lacazette taking a shot but Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma saving it, missing a header near the goal.
Messi took a shot that was cleared at the goal line in the second half during a PSG offense that had faded.
When Lyon had more possession, PSG’s midfield was in trouble. Italian midfielder Marco Verrati limped off the pitch with a bruised knee.
PSG went ahead again and Messi fired a low shot, saved by Lopes in the 78th minute. Lopes had a great intervention again, deflecting a lopsided free kick from Messi near the end.
Neymar seemed unhappy to be substituted in the 85th minute and looked dejected as he watched the game from the bench.
NIGHTMARE FOR NICE
Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo will surely want to forget Sunday’s game after he was sent off after nine seconds in the 1-0 loss to Angers.
The former Barcelona centre-back tripped Senegal’s Abdallah Sima as he charged forward to score and referee Bastien Dechepy did not hesitate to show him the quickest red card in French top-flight history.
“An arbitration decision that shocked me and condemned my team to a disadvantage from the start of the game,” Todibo wrote on Twitter. “The referee’s decisions at the start of the season have been questionable and I hope the French league will do something to remedy that.”
Angers were also reduced to 10 players after midfielder Sofiane Boufal was sent off in the 62nd minute, but Nice were unable to equalize after Nabil Bentaleb’s 20-metre strike for Angers in the 43rd minute.
Marseille remain undefeated but dropped points in a 1-1 home draw with Rennes. Midfielder Matteo Guendouzi had an own goal in the 25th minute and scored for his team in the 52nd.
