"Carrying PSG to the title without Mbappé and Neymar" "My goat" - Twitter erupts as Lionel Messi scores in eventful 3-1 win against Montpellier

Fans on Twitter erupted as Lionel Messi scored in a hard-fought 3-1 Ligue 1 win for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) against Montpellier. Messi scored the second goal in the 72nd minute during the away clash.

Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty early on in the first half of the match. After his initial effort was saved, the spot kick was ordered to be retaken as Montpellier goalkeeper Benjamin Lecompte stepped ahead of his line.

Mbappe's second shot struck the post after Lecomte got his fingertips to it and he missed the chance to place the ball inside the open net from the rebound.

Mbappe, however, had to be replaced soon after, having seemingly sustained a hamstring injury. Hugo Ekitike came on for the no. 7 in the 21st minute.

It took the Parisians 55 minutes before they could eventually break the deadlock. Ekitike set up Fabian Ruiz shortly after an Achraf Hakimi strike was overturned for offside via VAR check.

Ruiz turned provider for the second after Ekitike found the Spaniard on the left-hand side. Messi evaded his marker to reach the former Napoli man's pass and slot it into the back of the Montpellier net.

Montpellier managed to pull one back in the 89th minute of the game as Amaud Nordin found the back of the net for the hosts.

Teenager Warren Zaire-Emery added one for the visitors in injury time to seal a 3-1 win for PSG.

The win saw Christophe Galtier's team extend their lead over Marseille at the top of the Ligue 1 table to five points. They now have 51 points from 21 games this term. The defending Ligue 1 champions earned their first win in three league games.

Here are some of the best reactions across Twitter as Lionel Messi scored in PSG's Ligue 1 win against Montpellier:

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PSG superstar Lionel Messi scored his ninth league goal of the season

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Lionel Messi is getting along quite well with his season with PSG. The goal against Montpellier marked his ninth league goal of the campaign. He has now scored 14 goals and has provided 14 assists in 23 games across competitions this season.

With the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash against Bayern Munich looming on the horizon, fans of the Parisian club will be happy to see Messi in such inspiring form.

Mbappe's injury, however, might concern them. PSG's superstar attacking trio will have to be firing on all cylinders if they are to get the better of the Bavarians.

The two sides last clashed in the quarter-finals of the 2020-21 Champions League, when Lionel Messi was still a Barcelona player. PSG emerged winners on the 'away goals' rule after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.