'King of assists': Netizens react as Lionel Messi's playmaking helps PSG win clash against Saint-Etienne

When he is not scoring he is surely making sure his team gets all the chances they need to convert every ball into a goal - that's Lionel Messi - and in the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Saint-Etienne Ligue 1 clash on Saturday night.

The 34-year-old's transfer from Barcelona to PSG hasn't been without its teething problems, however, in this current game, Messi was surely in a very good mood.

After their 3-1 defeat to Nantes, the French giants responded by putting their foot on the accelerator. PSG established the comeback after trailing 1-0 at home thanks to the tandem Kylian Mbappe-Messi. Mauricio Pochettino's side started the second half settling the victory after a tough match.

PSG's first two strikes came from Messi, which continued his trend of performing better for playmaking than goalscoring in Ligue 1.

He showed a stunning vision with the ball on the right-hand side to pick out Mbappe's run in behind while slicing the Saint-Etienne defence down the middle in the process. Messi had the whole move mapped out before he even played the pass. 

However, he was not pleased with just one and the Argentine superstar decided to follow it up with another assist. The PSG forward broke his way into the penalty area, before laying the ball on a plate for Mbappe to have a clinical finish.

Soo after Danilo Pereira elevated to score the third PSG goal after a huge header. The Parisian team scored two goals in five minutes to put themselves up in the match and win it 3-1.

Seeing Messi's playmaking got netizens excited who started calling him the 'King of assists'. The player has now provided six league assists in 2022 – at least two more than any other player in the top 5 leagues this year. In the entire 2021-22 season, Thomas Müller (16) is the only player in the top 5 leagues with more assists than Messi (10).

 (@AskLukeSport) February 26, 2022

(@Adrianamessi30) February 26, 2022

February 26, 2022

(@mikelino_1) February 26, 2022

(@Vaylon_) February 26, 2022

As for the clash, not only did Mbappe rack up more goals, but Messi strutted his stuff with two fabulous assists to help his PSG career pick up steam.