Sport
Messi to start for PSG after in-house suspension lifted
‘I spoke with him to see what his mindset was and he was determined to play’
May 13, 2023 | 01:47 AM
Lionel Messi will start Paris St Germain’s Ligue 1 home game against AC Ajaccio today after returning to training following a club-imposed suspension, coach Christophe Galtier said on Friday."I spoke with him on Tuesday to see what his mindset was and I found him very determined to play... He will start tomorrow,” Galtier told a press conference. Messi was back in training on Monday after being suspended for making an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia and missing a training session as a result.French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after making the trip when he was supposed to train with the squad the day after the Ligue 1 leaders’ 3-1 defeat to Lorient last month. Messi apologised to PSG and his teammates last Friday and was left out of the squad for their 3-1 win at second-bottom Troyes two days later.PSG are six points clear of Lens and eight in front of third-placed Olympique de Marseille with four games remaining this season. Messi’s future at PSG has been the subject of much speculation recently, with a source close to the Argentina captain saying that he had received a formal offer to join Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal next season.The player’s focus is on winning the French title, however, Galtier said. "He’s very eager to win that title,” the coach said. "With him in the team we’ll have to adjust compared to what we did against Troyes. Leo is Leo. I’m not going to go into statistics but when he’s with us we have to strike a different balance.”PSG’s season has been well below expectations, having suffered early eliminations in the Champions League and the French Cup. Lens will move provisionally three points behind PSG if they beat Stade de Reims at home. PSG have lost three of their last four home games.Ajaccio are destined for an immediate return to Ligue 2 having won just once in 13 matches, with three of the four relegation spots all but decided. Auxerre, in 16th, are fighting to avoid suffering the same fate as Ajaccio and take on Brest, the team directly above them in the standings. Strasbourg bid to continue their late-season resurgence against Nice as the visit of relegated Angers provides third-placed Marseille the ideal chance to bounce back from defeat at Lens.Elye Wahi, the 20-year-old striker, became the first player to score four times for Montpellier in a Ligue 1 game in last weekend’s extraordinary 5-4 loss at Lyon.The France U-21 international has netted 17 goals for the campaign, pulling to within four of Olivier Giroud’s club record set during Montpellier’s title-winning season in 2011-12.It hasn’t been a seamless route to the top for Wahi, who was kicked out of Caen’s academy before nearly joining Rennes, but greater things lie ahead for a player increasingly in demand.Fixtures (kick-offs all GMT)Today: Strasbourg v Nice (1500), Paris Saint-Germain v Ajaccio (1900)Tomorrow: Clermont v Lyon (1100), Brest v Auxerre, Montpellier v Lorient, Rennes v Troyes, Toulouse v Nantes (all 1500), Monaco v Lille (1505), Marseille v Angers (1845)
May 13, 2023 | 01:47 AM