Lionel Messi once again faced the wrath of the French press after his performance in Paris Saint-Germain’s shock 3-1 defeat at Nantes on Saturday evening.
It was just the second Ligue 1 defeat of the campaign for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who appear to be well on their way to romping home to the title – 13 points clear of second-placed Marseille.
Yet performances all season for the Parisians have underwhelmed and this result came a mere four days after PSG defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie.
While Pochettino’s team are well on course to the league title and on track in the Champions League, where anything else than lifting the trophy is viewed as an underachievement at a club who have never won it.
Saturday night’s defeat came a week after PSG’s Ultra fans launched a lengthy protest against the effort and application of the club’s star players and the management of the club.
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PSG slumped to a hapless loss at Nantes and remarkably were 3-0 down by half-time, and while Neymar pulled a goal back in the second half – a limp penalty effort from the Brazilian summed up their evening.
L’Equipe did not spare PSG’s stars in their ratings of the match, with Messi given a paltry 4/10 for his performance – continuing his struggles in French domestic competition, where he has netted just twice in 16 appearances.
The French daily sports outlet wrote of his performance: "The Argentine, lined up as a right winger, was not given any space by Pallois, who was the image of the intensity of Nantes.
"Messi made a mistake against goalkeeper Alban Lafont in the eighth minute and assisted Idrissa Gueye for a good chance in the 27 th minute.
"He was more decisive after the break: he did well to find Kylian Mbappe in the 58 th minute, who earned a penalty and then he found the Frenchman alone again in the 69th minute.
"He played in a much lower role similar to a quarterback in American football.
"He missed a shot in the 85th minute and lacked great clarity in match."
Yet Messi’s rating of four was far from the worst of Pochettino’s side, with his strike partner Mbappe given just three out of 10 – despite winning the penalty in the match.
The worst rated of PSG’s players was former Newcastle and Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, whose performance drew just a two out of ten in the ratings.
The Dutch international had endured a torrid time in the French capital since leaving Anfield, and was responsible for giving away the penalty, via a handball, for Nantes’s third goal just before the break.
L’Equipe write that Wijnaldum is going through a ‘nightmarish’ period since he left the Premier League side.
