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French news site GFFN rated superstar Lionel Messi 4 out of 10, when PSG lost to Marseille in the French Cup

“The game was under Messi’s power, even though he almost scored from a free-kick from the wall,” commented GFFN when giving him a score of 4. “Messi should have done better when Neymar passed the ball to clear the way for him to shоot from edge of the penalty area, 10 minutes before time runs out.”

Messi regrets when he missed the opportunity in the match PSG lost to Marseille at the Velodrome, in the 1/8 round of the French Cup

Messi is not the most underrated player in the match, according to this football news site. Defender Achraf Hakimi and midfielder Fabian Ruiz only received three points. In addition, there were four other players who only received the same score as Messi, including a 1-1 equalizer Sergio Ramos.

Marseille opened the scoring thanks to Alexis Sanchez’s penalty kick at the Velodrome on the evening of February 8, before Ramos headed the equalizer from the corner at the end of the first half. In the 57th minute, midfielder Ruslan Malinovsky decisively sealed a 2-1 victory for the host. This is the second consecutive season that PSG has been eliminated in the round of 16 of the French Cup, and this is also the only arena in Messi’s career that has not won a trophy.

Goal page gives Messi a score of 5 out of 10, but no player is underrated than him. The reason they gave was “The free kick went over the bar and three times over the body, but Messi was apathetic about the situations on the field. The game needed a player to shine, but he was indifferent”.

A situation where Messi was indifferent was the last minute of the second half, when PSG needed a goal to avoid being eliminated. However, Messi and Ruiz passed many times in the middle of the field, although many teammates were waiting in the penalty area. After nearly a minute, the Argentine captain crossed into the penalty area, but the ball went too deep.

Messi and Ruiz pass back and forth even though stoppage time is almost up

On Twitter, many people even expressed anger when they saw Messi’s confusing style of play

Goal also named Messi as one of the three disappointments of the match, alongside defender Nuno Mendes and coach Christophe Galtier. “It is hard to blame Messi for every loss of PSG. Even so, they need the brilliance of the Argentine superstar but that does not appear today”, this page commented. “Usually Messi can turn the tide of the game in these games, but either way, we have to commend Marseille for keeping him quiet.”

In the period 2015-2021, PSG won the French Cup six times and reached the final once. But in the last two seasons, they only stopped in the 1/8 round. This match PSG lacks Kylian Mbappe – the player leading the race to the top scorer of the tournament – because of injury.

Neymar gave up the number 10 shirt to Messi
The number 10 shirt of PSG currently belongs to Neymar. However, the player born in 1992 changed to the number 11 to give the number 10 to his close brother Lionel Messi. This is also the number of the South American duo when they both played for Barcelona.

However, this change only applies to the French Cup. The rules of the tournament stipulate that every team must play with a squad consisting of shirt numbers from 1 to 11. Messi is wearing the number 30 shirt, so he has to change to a smaller number to match the regulations.

Messi is wearing the same number as when he played for Barcelona.

In the 7-0 victory over Pays de Cassel in the previous round, Neymar still wore the number 10 shirt. At that time, Messi did not play. He was rested by coach Christophe Galtier.

PSG shows seriousness in the domestic cup arena. For Messi, this is an opportunity for him to add to the missing trophy collection in the hexagonal country. So far, Messi has only conquered Ligue 1 and the French Super Cup.

However, the ambition of “El Pulga” was extinguished by Marseille with a 2-1 victory at the Velordrome. Messi had a lackluster day with not a single shot on target. Meanwhile, close friend Neymar also turned PSG’s criminal with a situation to lose the ball, leading directly to the goal.

PSG were eliminated in the round of 16 of the French Cup for two consecutive seasons. Now, teachers and coach Christophe Galtier only have two arenas to conquer the title: Ligue 1 and Champions League. Without improving the performance, “Le Parisien” hardly has the opportunity to overcome the challenge named Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the Champions League.