Guardiola heaps praise on Lionel Messi following stunning goal

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on Lionel Messi after the Paris Saint-Germain star scored a stunner in the Champions League last night.

City and PSG were facing off in the competition for the first time since April, when Guardiola’s side won the semi-final between the two clubs on aggregate to progress to the final in Porto.

This time, however, it was the French giants that were the winning side. After drawing their opening group stage fixture against Club Brugge, goals from Messi and Idrissa Gueye gave PSG a 2-0 victory.

The result takes them to the top of the Champions League Group A table with four points. City are in third place with three points from their opening two games.

The most memorable moment of the match came courtesy of Messi. His goal on 74 minutes – his first for the club – ultimately sealed the victory for PSG. And it was an absolute stunner.

In typical Messi fashion, he received the ball near the halfway line, before gliding towards the penalty area. The Argentinian then exchanged a quick one-two with Kylian Mbappe, before coolly placing the ball into the top corner of the net from 20 yards out.

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It was Messi at his very best, and the Parc des Princes was sent into raptures.

Guardiola praises Messi

His opposing manager on the night, Guardiola, could not help but praise Messi’s impact on the game.

The Spaniard managed Messi at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012, where the now 34-year-old produced similarly magical moments on a consistent basis.

He said: “We dealt with PSG first of all but we know it’s impossible to control Leo during 90 minutes.

“He was not much in touch with the ball – of course he was coming back from injury, he needed a bit of rhythm – but we know quite well when he can run and get close to the ball, he is unstoppable.

“What we have done is minimise, as much as possible, these kind of options and create the chances that we could create and I’m satisfied with the way we played.”

PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino said: “Usually I don’t celebrate goals, I keep it to myself. But today, for Messi, I did.

“I spent years watching Messi score goals from the opponent’s side so this time, scoring for my team, that’s great.”

Featured Image Credit: Getty