Lionel Messi has begun his Ligue 1 Uber Eats career! The diminutive Argentine came off the bench during the last half-hour of a match won by PSG in Reims on Sunday (0-2), much to the excitement of the crowd at the Stade Auguste-Delaune who thrilled at every one of his possessions in a bubbly finish to the match in Champagne country.

Flashes of brilliance

Lionel Messi came on in the 66th minute, replacing his former Barcelona team-mate Neymar in a stadium that was bursting with excitement. The Argentine was quickly cued up by Ander Herrera in the centre of the pitch and sent his first pass to Marco Verratti with his first touch in French football.

Positioned slightly to the right side of midfield, Messi then won the ball from Reims captain Younis Abdelhamid and launched the attack, playing Mbappé into the area and only narrowly failing to receive the return pass (78'). The Parisian number 30 accelerated again a few minutes later before serving Mbappé once again.

Pressing concerns

Not yet physically at 100%, Messi nonetheless looked to help out defensively, taking part in PSG's pressing game. But of course it is in attack that the six-time Ballon d'Or winner shines, and he found himself in the area in extra time, but the close attentions of reims' Marshall Munetsi left him no choice but to play the ball back to a team-mate.

As the final whistle blew, several of the Reims players rushed towards Lionel Messi for a hug. He and his team-mates then went on to greet the Parisian fans in Reims before a reunion with his former Barça team-mate Thierry Henry, now a consultant for Prime Video.

Stats:
26 balls played
5 challenges
3 fouls won
1 tackle
1 ball recovered
21 attempted passes (11 in the opposition half), 95% success rate

>> PLAYER PROFILE: Lionel Messi