A glance at the stat line from last night's Champions League fixture between PSG and Real Madrid enforces the social media take that a torch-passing moment occurred at the Parc des Princes.
Leo Messi had his 62nd minute penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois. PSG seemed condemned to a scoreless draw until Kylian Mbappé grabbed the game by the proverbial scruff of the proverbial neck and delivered the kind of match-winning goal that only the true giants of the game deliver.
Much of the discussion after the game has centred on Mbappé's genius but Messi's performance has also been subject to some serious scrutiny in the media. The mercurial player raters at L'Equipe have gone in with a challenge on Messi that his old teammate Javier Mascherano would be proud of. They dished out a 3/10 to Messi, the lowest of anyone in PSG's side and second lowest of the 22 men to start the match (apologies Dani Carvajal).
Champions League player ratings: 3 for Messi
L'Equipe's review of Messi's performance translates to something like this:
'There's something sad about seeing him like that.'
'In the first period, in this position almost as a midfielder, the Argentinian was available but he missed so narrowly (with the exception of his pass for Mbappe.)
'In the one-on-one, he suffered the athletic impact. His second period is better: he provides some effective relays. '
'But he weighs down his record with his failed or blocked attempts (53rd, 75th) and this penalty saved. This Messi is worrying.'
Even their front page today features a sly little Messi dig in French. Mbappé, meanwhile, was awarded an 8.
I love this play on words on today's cover of L'Equipe😃
"Mais si (pronounced as Messi), c'est encore lui" meaning "Of course, it's him again" aka Mbappé.
Meanwhile, Marca who would usually give more importance to a Real Madrid defeat, went for "How good is Mbappé!"😅 pic.twitter.com/EHgsZ9yRva— Rayane Moussallem (@RioMoussallem) February 16, 2022
And while last night can be interpreted as Mbappé taking the 'greatest in the world' tag off Messi - and raises interesting questions about where Mbappe will play next year - some football fans on Twitter were quick to point out the influence of Messi on that decider last night.
Surreally, Messi's penalty miss happened one minute before Ronaldo scored in Manchester against Brighton and Hove Albion.
SEE ALSO: PSG v Real Madrid Had Fans Crying Out For The Away Goals Rule
