Lionel Messi dons Neymar’s No. 10 jersey but PSG crash out of French Cup after loss to Nice

The home side laid siege to the Nice goal after an incident-free first half at the Parc des Princes and there were numerous chances in the second period for Julian Draxler, Mauro Icardi, Lionel Messi, Marco Verratti and Kylian Mbappe after he came on as a substitute.

Lionel Messi played against Nice in the Coupe de France (French Cup) on Monday (January 31) night, donning the number 10 jersey for the first time due to Neymar’s exclusion. The 34-year-old was on the pitch for 90 minutes for the French team, again, for the first time in 2022.

Messi successfully completed 4 out of his 6 dribbles attempted but had only one shot on target. As usual, he had an amazing solo run, but could not manage to convert it into a goal.

Goalkeeper Marcin Bulka made two saves in the shootout as Nice eliminated holders Paris St Germain 6-5 on penalties after a goalless draw in their last-16 French Cup tie. Bulka is on loan at Nice from PSG and stopped efforts from Leandro Paredes and teenager Xavi Simons in the shootout to end PSG’s dominance in the cup, which they had won in six of the past seven seasons.