Mbappe, Messi bury hatchet

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi combined to open the scoring for Paris Saint-Germain after just eight seconds on Sunday, sealing one of the fastest strikes in top-flight football history.

The slick move and subsequent celebrations appeared to put rumours of a rift behind them after Mbappe made controversial comments on South American international football earlier this week.

Reports indicate that PSG isn’t the happiest camp lately with Mbappe’s comments on South American football going down badly with Messi, Neymar and others in the dressing room.

The French World Cup winner suggested that international competition was not as intense in South America as it is in Europe.

Brazil manager Tite was among those to bite back at Mbappe and, although neither Messi nor Neymar commented publicly, The Mirror claims that they didn’t take too kindly to the 23-year-old’s viewpoint.

The megastars didn’t let that get in the way on Sunday, however, with a ridiculously fast goal against 2020/21 Ligue 1 champions Lille.

Straight from kick-off, the trio in question put together a well-orchestrated move that saw Messi play Mbappe over the top and the striker calmly lobbed the ball over the onrushing Leonardo.

Messi then got on the scoresheet himself before Achraf Hakimi and Neymar added a third and fourth to put the game beyond Lille by the half-time whistle. Under new boss Christophe Galtier, the Parisians were aiming to make it three wins from three and go top of Ligue 1.

Fans were also concerned at an incident involving Mbappe, Neymar and Messi earlier this month. The Frenchman appeared to barge past Messi on his way to start an argument with Neymar over who should take a penalty, minutes after Mbappe had missed one himself.

Manchester United and England’s record goal scorer, Wayne Rooney, was among those to criticised Mbappe for his antics. “A 23-year-old player commits to pushing Messi, I have never seen a bigger ego in my life,” he said. “Someone should remind Mbappe that when Messi was 23, he had already won four Ballons d’Or.”

Last term, Mbappe put up superb numbers in Ligue 1 with 28 goals and 17 assists in 35 outings. – Express Sport.