The World Cup champion rounded off a brilliant play securing the Parisans’ victory against Angres

Lionel Messi was on target in his return to his first game since winning the World Cup, scoring in a 2-0 victory against Angers on Wednesday.

Held at Parc des Princes, the Parisians trampled down the Angers’s defence, with Hugo Ekitike scoring just five minutes into the match.

Pushing on a comfortable edge against the opposing side, the French squad managed to perform even without the appearance of Kylian Mbappe.

Remaining dominant in possession, Angers shot six shots during the duration of the match, but they all were capped as off-target.

Sergio Ramos was denied from point-blank range by a superior Paul Bernardoni save 24 minutes into the match after being assisted by a fierce Messi pass.

After the break, Abdel Bouhazama’s side looked to make an equaliser against a growing secure PSG squad.

Messi on the pitch gave the team all it needed as he doubled the lead in the 72nd minute. He ran onto a Nordi Mukiele pass to roll the ball effortlessly into the bottom-left corner of the net.

A VAR review eventually overruled the initial offside decision, extending PSG’s lead to six points after 18 games.

After the match, coach Christophe Galtier applauded Messi’s return to the team.

“We saw, surely the best player in the world again. He was anxious to play, he prepared well and obviously when Leo is on the pitch, things change a lot. He’s calmer, having won the trophy that he was missing.”