A little less than a month since he lifted the football’s most valuable trophy, Lionel Messi will play his first match for the club when Paris Saint-Germain host Angers SCO at Parc des Princes tonight. Considering it was France who lost the final, it may get a little awkward in Paris.The party is over, the celebrations have died down, the Argentine captain is no longer revelling in La Albiceleste’s triumph with his countrymen. Messi will “turn French” again as he pulls on Les Parisiens’ shirt.##NAJAVA_MECA_6937480##The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will take the pitch alongside Kylian Mbappe as the pair revert to being teammates rather than deadly rivals. It’s back to normality, and yet it’s strange. It remains to be seen how the public will welcome the Argentinian captain at the Parc des Princes. The capital club have not planned any particular celebration for Leo, although he did receive a guard of honour and a trophy at Camp des Loges, the PSG training centre, on his return.It must be said that the context is quite delicate. Disrespectful celebrations marred the final in Doha towards Mbappe, and the obscene gestures of Emiliano Martinez have shocked and annoyed many Parisian supporters. Messi obviously cannot be held responsible for this, but some have nevertheless noted the silence of the Argentine captain on this subject. Mbappe defused the situation by saying he had no problems with Messi and that they were ready to win trophies together. Will that be enough to relax the atmosphere in the stands? We can only guess.Messi’s PSG teammates with the guard of honor 👏(via @PSG_inside) pic.twitter.com/ltOKPw0Jgh— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 4, 2023 Paris’ hard-core supporters have drawn the line a year ago. They booed Messi in the wake of PSG’s loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and that’s when the Argentine stopped applauding that part of the stands. The Collectif Ultras Paris have firmly taken Mbappe’s side and have cooled their relationship with Messi. Apparently, being the best player in the world and a World Cup holder is not good enough for them.LIGUE 1 – Round 18Wednesday21:00: (2.65) Auxerre (3.30) Toulouse (2.90)21:00: (4.30) Brest (3.60) Lille (1.93)21:00: (3.35) Ajaccio (3.10) Reims (2.45)21:00: (3.60) Nantes (3.40) Olympique Lyon (2.20)21:00: (4.40) Clermont (3.60) Rennes (1.92)23:00: (3.80) Strasbourg (3.50) Lens (2.10)23:00: (1.12) PSG (12.0) Angers (20.0)23:00: (1.85) Nice (3.60) Montpellier (4.80)23:00: (5.50) Troyes (3.80) Olympique Marseille (1.72)23:00: (4.20) Lorient (3.60) Monaco (1.95)***odds are subject to change***
