Cheers and jeers for MessiLaurens: Messi made his return for Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend after his suspension, and he was in for a ride from the crowd at the Parc des Princes. Indeed, the Paris fans were clearly divided on which reception to give to the Argentina international. Half of the stands booed him every time he touched the ball and when his name was called. The other half applauded him and tried to cover the whistling. It was a very strange atmosphere.
Some clearly have forgiven Messi for missing training to go to Saudi Arabia and others still feel disrespected. Some are blaming the World Cup winner for wanting to leave at the end of the season. Others welcome his departure after two up and down (more up than down actually) years.
– Laurens: What happened between Messi-PSG, and why he’ll leave
Messi himself didn’t seem too bothered by the half cheers and half jeers. He has not shown much emotion on the pitch since he joined PSG in 2021. On Saturday, he was not very good on the pitch either, despite starting well in the opening 10 minutes. He disappeared after that, and was the first player from the home team to disappear in the tunnel at full-time.
Messi will have one final home game to play at the Parc des Princes this season, and in his career. It will be on Saturday June 3 against Clermont . He is probably not looking forward to it very much.
Goals Abde’s stunner will have many admirers Marsden: There were good goals and important goals in LaLiga this weekend. Young B team striker Alberto Mari scored a dramatic 88th minute winner at Celta Vigo for Valencia to move three points clear of the relegation zone, while Alex Baena scored a stunning free kick as Villarreal thumped Athletic Club 5-1 to keep their slim Champions League hopes alive.
However, perhaps the best goal was scored by Osasuna ‘s Abde Ezzalzouli , who continues to impress on loan from Barcelona. The winger drifted in from the left and ripped the ball into the top corner with his right foot from 18 yards as Osasuna bounced back from last week’s Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Madrid by beating Almeria 3-1 .
With four games to go, the Pamplona side are just one point away from the European places, although it is unlikely Abde will still be with them if they do qualify for the Europa Conference League or the Europa League. If Barca don’t take him back, there will be a queue of clubs keen to take him off their hands this summer.
Eze’s double oozes class Ogden: Eberechi Eze scored two great goals for Crystal Palace in Saturday’s 2-0 home win against AFC Bournemouth , but it was the second strike which truly showcased the 24-year-old’s ability.
His first, which rounded off a flowing passing move involving Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew , was easy on the eye and an example of how Palace have played with freedom and confidence since Roy Hodgson returned to Selhurst Park as caretaker-manager in March.
But the second was a different level altogether, having been instigated by Michael Olise ‘s 10th Premier League assist of the season — only Kevin De Bruyne and Bukayo Saka have registered more. Olise’s 40-yard cross-field pass picked out Eze on the edge of the Bournemouth penalty area, but the forward still had plenty to do as he faced up to an array of defenders.
But he attacked the 18-yard box and then unleashed a curling right-foot shot from 20 yards which flew past helpless Cherries keeper Neto . Palace have a truly exciting forward line with Eze, Olise and Zaha and keeping them together will be the priority for whoever is manager next season.
Haller’s sweet back heel Laurens: Borussia Dortmund destroyed Borussia Monchengladbach 5-2 and Sebastien Haller netted the sweetest back heel possible. Donyell Malen ‘s cross from the right-hand side was perfectly hit by Haller with the inside of his right foot behind his standing leg.
It was an outrageous piece of skill to put Dortmund 3-0 up after just 20 minutes. Their superb victory meant that, with two games to go, they stay a point behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga title race after the league leaders easily beat Schalke 6-0 .
Special mention also needs to go to Gael Clichy , the former France , Arsenal and Manchester City left-back now playing for Servette , who scored a ridiculous 40-yard lob against Sion on Saturday.
Teams in trouble Olley: The fight for survival will be a scrap to the final day of the season and each week one team is looking nervously at the dying of the light more than the rest.
After Nottingham Forest and Leeds United earned a point each against Chelsea and Newcastle respectively, Leicester dropped to 19th place and know a win over Liverpool on Monday would only take them out of the bottom three by a solitary place and a single point. Defeat would leave them staring over their shoulders into the abyss, especially knowing they face high-flying Newcastle away next Monday before hosting West Ham United on the final day.
Leicester have won their last two Premier League home games against Liverpool but Jurgen Klopp’s side are finishing the season strongly as they try to gatecrash the top four, stringing together six consecutive victories. Leicester are feeling the pressure off the field, too, with relegation likely to ask difficult questions of a club that announced the biggest annual loss in its history back in March: £92.5m for the 2021-22 season.
Laurens: At the end of the season, in two games time, Stuttgart and their fans could well look at Sunday’s game against Bayer Leverkusen and think that it’s where things could have turned their way.
Indeed, the 1-1 draw is not a terrible result on paper against a team like Bayer, but it means that the VfB stay 17th in the table and one point behind Schalke in the playoff position. It could have been different had Josha Vagnoman , the young full-back, scored the huge chance he had 15 minutes from time. Alas, his header in the six-yard box somehow went wide and his team will rue his miss massively.
With a win, Stuttgart would have climbed up to 15th ahead of Bochum on goal difference. Now they only have two games to save their lives in the Bundesliga, against Mainz and Hoffenheim . If they can’t turn things around, they will go back to the second division after three seasons in the top-flight.
Weekend MVP Mair claims place in Notts County history 
