Lionel Messi at PSG: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2022-23
Carlo Garganese
- 3 Jun 2023 22:02 BST
- 14 min read
Lionel Messi shocked the football world with his transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 and, after a quiet first season, he is producing some impressive statistics in his second campaign.
La Liga rules made it impossible for Barca, amid their financial problems, to renew their star player’s contract and as such Messi was forced to move to PSG on a Bosman transfer. Messi won Ligue 1 with PSG in his first year with the club, but his debut season in France fell short of the huge expectations that surrounded his change of team.
The Argentina great did not post the spectacular individual numbers that he often produced at Camp Nou, and he could not help PSG to the Champions League trophy they crave so much.
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Still, the 2022/23 season offered Messi, who is now 35, huge opportunities to redeem himself and so he has done so.
Messi began the season in the perfect fashion by scoring PSG's first goal of 2022/23. He broke the deadlock in the 4-0 thrashing of Nantes on July 31 in the Trophee des Champions.
And the Argentine also began the Ligue 1 season in sensational form with two goals and an assist on matchday one as PSG thrashed Clermont 5-0. His second goal was a brilliant bicycle kick.
In his third match of the campaign, against Montpellier, he was rather quieter, despite his side going on to win 5-2, with Neymar instead catching the spotlight thanks to a hat-trick. It was a subdued performance from the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, who had earlier in the week missed out on making the shortlist for the award once again.
He was instrumental in a 7-1 win away to Lille a week later. He created the opening goal of the game for Kylian Mbappe after just eight seconds, when he lofted a pass over the top of the defence for his colleague to score from. Messi then netted a cute finish following a move he had started in the midfield. Although no more goals or assists would follow thereafter, it was a performance that continued to mark the Argentine's return to form.
The following week against Monaco proved to be a more testing affair as PSG dropped their first points of the season in a 1-1 draw. The influence of Messi was limited by a strong performance by the visitors' midfield, although he still managed a terrific effort off the post, which was an inch away from finding the net. He was substituted for the first time this season, going off with three minutes left.
He was also substituted a few days later in the 3-0 win over Toulouse but not before he had delivered two more assists for partners Neymar and Mbappe. Yet another two assists arrived three days later when PSG went to Coupe de France winners Nantes. Again they picked up a 3-0 win on the road, with Messi creating the first two goals for Kylian Mbappe.
Messi did not score or assist in the 2-1 Champions League matchday one win over Juventus but he did perform well as PSG started their European season in the best possible way. The veteran was back making a goal contribution in his next game as PSG narrowly beat Brest 1-0. Messi provided the assist for Neymar on the half-hour.
And Messi made history in the 3-1 Champions League win over Maccabi Haifa. His equaliser meant that he broke the record for most opponents (39) scored against by a player in the Champions League. It also meant he had scored in 18 straight Champions League seasons, also a record.
His scoring run continued the following Sunday in a key Ligue 1 encounter against Lyon. Indeed, he notched the only goal of the game with a cool finish after being set up by Neymar. Messi curled home perhaps his best goal so far this season, his free-kick in the 2-1 win over Nice last Saturday night leaving Kasper Schmeichel with no chance.
He broke another record in the next game against Benfica, who became the 40th team that Messi had scored against in the Champions League. The Argentine was withdrawn late from that encounter in Portugal with a minor calf injury.
Although it was hoped that the issue would not prevent him from featuring subsequently, Messi was forced to watch from the stands as PSG were held to a scoreless draw and then played out a second 1-1 result against Benfica.
Messi returned to the starting XI for Le Classique on October 16 against Marseille at Parc des Princes. Even if he did not net against OM, he was back among the goals in Ajaccio the following week, rounding off a brilliant strike for PSG's second in a brilliant 3-0 victory. But, as ever with Messi, his performance was about so much more than the goal; he created two for Mbappe, both of which were down to very intelligent passes.
Lionel Messi 🤝 Kylian Mbappe.
❤ Here's your goal of the weekend! pic.twitter.com/wECI6gSy6V— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) October 22, 2022
Messi was back in action in the Champions League, and hit two goals as well as laying on two more as PSG demolished Maccabi Haifa 7-2. His hot run of form continued the following weekend against Troyes, which was a thrilling 4-3 win for PSG. Messi scored PSG's second in the game, having been set up by Sergio Ramos, then turned provider to create a goal for Neymar.
He got another assist in the 2-1 win in Turin over Juventus to complete the Champions League group stages. Messi missed the 2-1 win over Lorient with a minor injury at the beginning of November. He played 75 minutes of the 5-0 win over Auxerre in the final game before the World Cup break.
Messi enjoyed a legendary World Cup as he led Argentina to their first triumph in 36 years. The veteran was the player of the tournament, taking home the Golden Ball after scoring seven goals and providing three assists on the road to glory. He scored in every knockout round and struck twice in the final as Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw.
Messi was given an extra break as a result of his World Cup exertions and missed PSG's first matches after the tournament, a 2-1 win against Strasbourg on December 28, a 3-1 defeat to Lens on January 1 and a 3-1 Coupe de France victory over Chateauroux.
He made his return on January 11 in the Ligue 1 clash with Angers, scoring in a 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes. He also played in the 1-0 defeat at Rennes four days later.
Messi was then included in PSG's starting XI to face Riyadh's All-Star XI in an exhibition match in Saudi Arabia. The Argentine scored the opener after just three minutes, following Neymar's assist. The goal won't count towards his statistics as it was in a friendly match.
He sat out the Coupe de France win over Pays de Cassel before returning to the starting XI for the 1-1 Ligue 1 draw with Reims.
Messi was back among the goals in a 3-1 win over Montpellier. It looked like it might be another frustrating evening for him when he had goal disallowed in the first half, he latched onto a brilliant Fabian Ruiz pass to score his side's second in the victory.
The Argentine scored again as PSG beat Toulouse 2-1 to maintain at eight point gap at the top of Ligue 1. But he hit a blank four days after as PSG lost 2-1 to Marseille in the Coupe de France before missing the defeat to Monaco through injury.
Messi made his return to the PSG team in the Champions League knockout game against Bayern Munich but, despite playing the full 90 minutes, he could not stop his side losing 1-0 at home.
The Argentine was back on the scoresheet in PSG's next league outing, though, grabbing the winner as the French champions came from behind to beat Lille 4-3.
PSG switched to a 3-5-2 formation for Le Classique at Marseille as Messi partnerred Mbappe in attack. The duo were in inspired form, combining for three goals in a 3-0 win. In the process, Messi scored the 700th club goal in his career.
His scoring streak continued in a 4-2 victory over Nantes the following week. His goal was an atypical one for Messi as it was more about striking instinct than any technical brilliance as he prodded home from close range after a cross from the left.
Messi lined up for PSG's biggest game of the season in the Champions League last-16 second leg on March 8 as the Parisians tried to overcome a 1-0 deficit in Munich. However, they were soundly beaten 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate as PSG were knocked out.
The following weekend, Messi and PSG claimed a 2-1 win over Brest. Messi was PSG's main protagonist in the match and it was fitting that he created the winning goal for Kylian Mbappe in the very last minute with a lofted through pass over the top of the home defence. It was his 300th assist in club football.
In the final match before the March international break, Messi started up front with Mbappe at home to Rennes but they fell to a surprise 2-0 defeat.
After the international break, Messi and Mbappe lined up together again against Lyon but PSG fell to a second straight defeat in a 1-0 loss.
PSG got back to winning ways against Nice a week later, beating the Cote d'Azur club 2-0. Messi opened the scoring at the Allianz Riviera before crossing to former Clasico rival Sergio Ramos to head home the second.
In a crucial encounter in the battle for the Ligue 1 title, Messi scored PSG's third in a ruthless 3-1 win over 10-man Lens after combining brilliantly with Kylian Mbappe.
Messi put in another superlative display as PSG beat bottom club Angers the following Friday. His lofted ball forward allowed Juan Bernat to assist Mbappe for the opener in the 2-1 win, but he got the credit for the second assist, slipping Mbappe through for his second.
Messi hit a blank on April 30 as PSG fell to a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Lorient.
He missed the trip to Troyes on May 7 after being suspended by PSG for two weeks for an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia following the defeat to Lorient.
After an apology, Messi's suspension was cut to just one week and he was immediately back in the starting XI for a home match against Ajaccio. Although PSG romped to a 5-0 win, he was unable to contribute either a goal or an assist.
He set that right the following week with an assist against Auxerre, then scored on what may well prove to be his final away match against Strasbourg. Fittingly, it was the goal that sealed the Ligue 1 title for PSG and ended a five-game drought for the World Cup winner.
Messi's final game for PSG ended in disappointment as the Parisians gave up a 2-0 home lead to lose 3-2 against Clermont. His last major action for the club was a terrific late free kick that was saved.
This page will be regularly updated to showcase Messi’s individual club statistics for PSG throughout the season.
Lionel Messi: 2022-23 stats
Appearances: 41
Starts: 41
Goals: 21
Assists: 20
Messi: Matches played
PSG 4-0 Nantes, July 31 – Trophee des Champions
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Clermont Foot 0-5 PSG, August 7 – Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 2
Assists: 1
PSG v Montpellier, August 14 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Lille 1-7 PSG, August 21 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
PSG 1-1 Monaco, August 28 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 87
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Toulouse 0-3 PSG, August 31 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 83
Goals: 0
Assists: 2
Nantes 0-3 PSG, September 4 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 2
PSG 2-1 Juventus, September 7 - Champions League
Minutes played: 84
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 1-0 Brest, September 11 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
Maccabi Haifa 1-3 PSG, September 14 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Lyon 0-1 PSG, September 18 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
PSG 2-1 Nice, October 1 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 88
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Benfica 1-1 PSG, October 5 - Champions League
Minutes played: 81
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Reims 0-0 PSG, October 8 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 1-1 Benfica, October 11 - Champions League
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 1-0 Marseille, October 16 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 78
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Ajaccio 0-3 PSG, October 21 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 2
PSG 7-2 Maccabi Haifa, October 25 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 2
Assists: 2
PSG 4-3 Troyes, October 30 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Juventus 1-2 PSG, November 2 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
Lorient 1-2 PSG, November 6 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 5-0 Auxerre, November 13 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 75
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 2-1 Strasbourg, December 28 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Lens 3-1 PSG, January 1 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Chateauroux 1-3 PSG, January 6 - Coupe de France
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 2-0 Angers, January 11 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Rennes 1-0 PSG, January 15 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Pays de Cassel 0-7 PSG, January 19 - Coupe de France
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 1-1 Reims, January 29 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Montpellier 1-3 PSG, February 1 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
PSG 2-1 Toulouse, February 5 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Marseille 2-1 PSG, February 8 - Coupe de France
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Monaco 3-1 PSG, February 12 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 0-1 Bayern Munich – Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 4-3 Lille, February 19 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Marseille 0-3 PSG, February 26 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 2
PSG 4-2 Nantes, March 5 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Bayern Munich 2-0 PSG, March 8 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Brest 1-2 PSG, March 12 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
PSG 0-2 Rennes, March 19 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 0-1 Lyon, April 2 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Nice v PSG, April 9 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
PSG 3-1 Lille, April 15 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Angers 1-2 PSG, April 23 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
PSG 1-3 Angers, April 30 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Troyes 1-3 PSG, May 7 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
PSG 5-0 Ajaccio, May 14 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Auxerre 1-2 PSG, May 21 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
Strasbourg 1-1 PSG, May 27 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
PSG 2-3 Clermont Foot, June 3 - Ligue 1
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Lionel Messi at PSG: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2021-22
It was a mixed first season at PSG for Messi, who produced some magical moments and won the league but still fell short of his ultimate aims.
Messi made 34 appearances for the French champions in all competitions, 32 of which were starts. He only scored 11 goals across those games, though he did add an impressive 14 assists.
In Ligue 1 specifically, Messi scored just eight times from 26 outings.
Messi made his PSG debut as a second-half substitute against Reims on August 29, 2021, and it was a quiet beginning as his new team eased to a 2-0 win.
The forward was then handed his first PSG start in the Champions League trip to Brugge on September 15, his side suffering frustration in a disappointing 1-1 draw where he did not score.
Messi struggled in his opening weeks as a PSG player and it took almost a month after his debut for him to score his first goal.
The star finally came to life on the biggest of stages when he played a vital role in beating Manchester City and his former coach Pep Guardiola in the Champions League, with a remarkable strike in a 2-0 victory.
It took until November 20 for Messi to finally claim his all-important first goal in Ligue 1 for PSG with a tremendous strike late on in a 3-1 home victory over Nantes.
The biggest disappointment of the season for Messi and his team-mates arrived on March 9 as they were eliminated from the Champions League.
Despite being 2-0 up on aggregate after Mbappe's second goal in the last-16 tie against Real Madrid, PSG crumbled in the last half-hour to lose 3-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.
Messi was subsequently booed throughout his next game as PSG fans took out their frustration of this exit on both the Argentine and Neymar. They won the game 3-0 against Bordeaux.
PSG claimed the Ligue 1 title after a 1-1 draw versus Lens on April 23, and it was a goal from Messi that ultimately clinched the championship.
It was one of the goals of the season, too, with a long-range strike being whipped high into the top left corner, but PSG fans would have hoped to have seen many more of those moments.
Lionel Messi 2020-21 stats
What proved to be Messi’s final season at Barcelona ended with him winning one trophy, the Copa del Rey.
Messi scored twice in a 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the final, but it was Atletico Madrid and his former team-mate Luis Suarez who triumphed over Real Madrid and Barca in La Liga.
In the Champions League, Messi’s future employers PSG ended Barca’s hopes in the last-16 stage with a 5-2 aggregate victory.
The Argentina forward scored in both legs, including a stunning goal in Paris, but also missed a penalty in that second leg. Kylian Mbappe netted a famous hat-trick in the Camp Nou game.
Individually, Messi topped the scoring charts in Spain with 30 goals and struck 38 times from 47 appearances in total across all competitions.
That was seven more goals than he had managed in 2019/20, though still short of the peak numbers he had previously produced at Camp Nou.
