Neymar and Messi begin to click again as PSG bank on winning partnership in new season

“So, you also defend these days?” smiled the losing manager at the opposition superstar during Sunday's Trophee des Champions curtain-raiser to the French club season. The wise-crack came from Antoine Kombouare, the head coach of Nantes, with his side heading towards a 4-0 defeat. Neymar, who he was talking to in full earshot, took the remark in good grace.

But just about every barb aimed at Neymar left him smiling on a night Paris Saint-Germain set down a marker for the domestic domination they plan in the months ahead, and the sort of stellar individual performances they are determined to coax more consistently from the stars who make up their squad. Even when he was fouled, Neymar turned it to his benefit.

Brought down shortly before half-time, he took the subsequent free-kick, and converted it with a curling drive. Manhandled in the opposition penalty area eight minutes from full-time, he rolled in the spot-kick to complete the scoring.

Neymar had set up the first goal, with a through-ball that invited Lionel Messi to duel, one-on-one with Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont, one of several moments in which the chemistry between Neymar and Messi made observers recall their best days in partnership while at Barcelona.

The pair were reunited last summer in Paris, but so far have enjoyed only sporadic moments of complicity. “They showed a form, together, that was better than at any time in a PSG jersey,” reckoned L’Equipe, the French newspaper that chronicles the mood and mechanics of PSG studiously, of the Trophee des Champions exhibition.

Messi’s goal arrived after 23 minutes, a classic dribble and feint before a nimble finish. In 2021-22, Messi needed six Ligue 1 matches to get off the mark for PSG, the club he moved to,