Lionel Messi inspired Paris Saint-Germain to a 3-1 comeback victory at Saint-Etienne with a hat-trick of assists as Sergio Ramos made his long-awaited debut for the club.
Ramos was making his first appearance for PSG since joining them on a free transfer from Real Madrid this summer.
– ESPN’s Notebook: The inside stories in football
– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
However, it was Messi who stole the show with three assists as PSG extended their lead at the top of the table to 14 points.
There was a big concern for PSG late on as Neymar had to be stretchered off the pitch with an ankle injury.
Saint-Etienne went ahead after 23 minutes with a Denis Bouanga strike but were controversially reduced to 10 men after Timothee Kolodziejczak brought down Kylian Mbappe when he was through on goal.
Messi took the resulting free kick and set up Marquinhos to equalise with a well-placed header just before the break.
The visitors went ahead with 11 minutes remaining when Messi put Angel Di Maria through on goal and he produced a clinical finish.
Messi grabbed his third assist of the afternoon in stoppage time to set up Marquinhos for another header to seal the three points for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.