The indications were already there – if anyone in AS Saint-Etienne didn’t take note of it, they should blame themselves only. The deadly combination of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe has effectively destroyed Saint-Etienne, leaving Paris Saint-Germain a runaway 3-1 winner in Ligue 1, but Messi had already predicted it was coming, though not in as many words. Less than a week ago, Messi said: “I know (Angel) di Maria and Ney (Neymar) from before. I didn’t know Kylian but little by little we’ve gotten to know each other and try to connect better on the pitch, to get more comfortable with each other. I was lucky to be with the best at Barcelona and I am at PSG too. I’m happy and I want to continue doing it.” The result was very much visible against Saint-Etienne – the through passes from Messi had goals written on them and Mbappe gleefully accepted the invitations to find the rival net. Saint-Etienne truly had no clue of what was going on.
Once the match was over, Mbappe rightly pointed out that Messi was finally coming to his own self and the duo could turn out to be a world-beating combination. Mbappe said: “Messi is a great player. I’m happy for him; he’s adjusting to a new life, a new city, a new club. And even when you win seven Ballon d’Or, you have to adapt; that’s how it is. He’s getting better and better, he’s happy, and I’ve always said it, if we have a great Messi, it’s better. It’s easy to play with him. I’ve always wanted to play with great players. Great players are made to play with great players. We have fun on the field, I have a lot of fun, and I am also learning,” Mbappe said. PSG fans must be happy with the fact that Messi-Mbappe combination appears to be clicking at the right time with the Champions League second leg tie against Real Madrid just round the corner. PSG have one more match on their schedule against OGC Nice before they head to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.