With just 35 minutes left for Messi, Paris Saint-Germain have won their second friendly in Japan

With Lionel Messi on the pitch for just 35 minutes, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 at Saitama Stadium in the second of three friendlies scheduled as part of their pre-season tour in Japan, which ends on Monday. .

The new PSG under the command of Christophe Galtier (replaced Mauricio Pochettino) is taking its first steps and the coach intends to give a first taste of his squad soon. That’s why he presented a very different line-up from the one he used in Wednesday’s 2-1 win against Kawasaki Frontale at Tokyo’s National Stadium. That duel marked the debut of the former Nice coach.

So Kylian Mbappé was the only one of the players who had started the first match to reappear among the 11 who started the clash this Saturday: he shared the attack with Mauro Icardi and with the Spaniard Pablo Sarabia.

It was Sarabia who opened the scoring with a remarkable right after Icardi rejected in the 16 ‘of a balanced first half, in which the Japanese (eighth in their country’s J-League) put up a good resistance and disturbed the Costa Rican goalkeeper several times. Keylor Navas.

But the quality of the individualities ended up upsetting the balance and at the 34th of that first chapter Mbappé, after a match with the Spaniard Juan Bernat, established the 2-0 with a powerful shot from very close range.

In the second half the whirlwind of changes begins: Galtier changes the 11 starters in the first 21 minutes. In the second round of variants, 10 minutes from the complement, Messi joined the Brazilian Neymar and the Spaniard Sergio Rico for Mbappé, Icardi and Navas.

25 minutes into that second half, young Arnaud Kalimuendo scored the third for the Parisians. The striker, a member of the French Under 21 team, had also transformed himself in Wednesday’s match against Kawasaki Frontale, in which Messi had also scored.

The tour of the Ligue 1 champion in Japan, which also included cultural activities such as a visit to a judo school on Friday, will close on Monday at 7 (Argentine time) with the third and last friendly scheduled: against Gamba Osaka in Suita’s Panasonic Stadium.