There’s not long now until our new overlords are all assembled.
Paris Saint-Germain got its second straight victory to open the season on Saturday afternoon at the Parc des Princes, but the side was still without new signings Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and the recovering Neymar and Ángel Di María.
But they were all in the building, and Achraf Hakimi, Georginio Wijnaldum, Donnarumma, Ramos and Messi were presented to the home support before the match. It was an unbelievable scene, and the reception for Messi . . . well, just watch.
The old toys delivered for PSG in the match. Mauro Icardi’s opening goal was a towering piece of center forward play. The second was engineered by Kylian Mbappé, although it owed much to a big deflection. The third, arriving from Julian Draxler before halftime, was again sparked by Mbappé out wide. The fourth? Again Mbappé driving through the defense before setting up Pablo Sarabia.
But there is hope for PSG’s opponents: Strasbourg managed to score two goals.
When will Messi play again?
PSG quickly returns to action in Ligue 1 on Friday, Aug. 20, away to Brest, but will the stars finally align? Based on video from PSG’s training session on Monday, it looks like all the players who featured heavily at the Euros and Copa América are getting there.
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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 16, 2021
Messi could certainly get his first minutes on Friday against Brest, and then Mauricio Pochettino could unleash him at home against Reims on Sunday, Aug. 29.
We then have an early September international break before PSG plays Clermont Foot on Sep. 12. That’s when Sergio Ramos is targeting his debut, as the center back is still recovering from a calf injury.
