Twitter erupts as Lionel Messi shines in PSG's 5-1 victory over Lille

Lionel Messi put in a man-of-the-match performance as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) thumped defending champions Lille 5-1 in Ligue 1. The Argentinian superstar scored his second league goal of the campaign, while also providing an assist on the night.

PSG needed to bounce back with a huge performance after being knocked out of the Coupe de France by Nice last week and that's exactly what Mauricio Pochettino's side did. Despite having a severely depleted squad, the French giants fielded an extremely strong lineup, with Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappe all starting in attack.

Lille shot themselves in the foot early on as goalkeeper Ivo Grbic spilled a routine cross for Danilo Pereira to stab home and give his side the lead. However, the French champions did well to stay in the game and their resilience was rewarded in the 28th minute when Sven Botman scored an acrobatic scissor kick after some good work by Hatem Ben Arfa down the touchline.

Their joy was shortlived, however, as Presnel Kimpembe powered home a header after connecting with Lionel Messi's corner in the 32nd minute. The Argentine would then get in on the action in vintage fashion. He skipped past the defender's challenge before dinking the ball over Grbic to score his second league goal of the campaign.

The Parisians went into half-time 3-1 up and in the ascendancy with Messi hitting the crossbar with a free-kick right before the half ended. The second half started much the same, with PSG dominating proceedings. Their pressure paid off in the 51st minute as Pereira fired home from outside the area after a scramble in the box. This was the midfielder's third goal in his last three games.

Pochettino's side came close to making it 5-1 four minutes later as Mbappe saw his effort saved after latching onto Achraf Hakimi's dangerous cross. However, the Frenchman would not be denied a second time as he curled an effort into the top corner in the 67th minute after some good work by Marco Verratti in midfield.

This killed the game as a contest as the tempo of both sides' attacking play drastically reduced. Neither side made any more significant chances and PSG came away 5-1 winners.

Lionel Messi hitting form for PSG at the right time

With their huge Champions League round of 15 clash against Real Madrid on the horizon, PSG will be glad that Lionel Messi is getting back to his best.

The Argentine recently returned to action after a month, having tested positive for COVID-19 back in December. However, it seems like Messi is now getting into his groove at the club. The forward has scored one goal and provided two assists in the three matches since he made his return and Mauricio Pochettino will hope that he can continue in the same vein of form for the rest of the campaign.

With that being said, here are the best Twitter reactions to PSG's 5-1 victory against Lille in Ligue 1: