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Argentina star Lionel Messi believes he is beginning to find his feet at Paris Saint-Germain, having required a year to settle in after his move to France.
Messi scored just 11 goals in 34 appearances during his first season at PSG in 2021-22, but has already struck six times in 11 outings for the Ligue 1 giants this campaign.
The former Barcelona man is also enjoying himself on the international stage, scoring twice and adding an assist as Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 34 matches with a 3-0 friendly win over Honduras on Friday.
Messi led his team for shots on target (three), touches in the opposition box (nine), crosses (three) and successful dribbles (two) in Miami, completing the scoring with a sumptuous 20-yard chip in the second half.
Speaking to TyC Sports after the victory, Messi compared his current form favourably with that of last season.
“I feel good, different from last year and I knew it was going to be like that,” Messi said.
“Last year, as I already said, I had a bad time, I never finished finding myself and this one is different.
“I arrived with a different head, more accommodated to the club, to the locker room, to the game, to my team-mates.
“The truth is that I feel very good and I have enjoyed myself again.”
Friday’s brace took Messi to 88 goals in 163 senior international caps, and he will join a select group of players to have appeared in five separate World Cups when Argentina begin their campaign against Saudi Arabia on November 22.
The PSG forward believes Lionel Scaloni’s men are in a good place as their trip to Qatar approaches and is trying not to think about the possibility of his team suffering injuries before the event.
He added: “It is complicated – there are many games and little rest time, but you have to face it as always.
“If you are going to play matches thinking about the World Cup, taking care of yourself or not messing up, then in the end it can be worse.
“I am one of those who think that things happen because they happen and if things have to happen they will happen. God willing nothing happens to anyone and we can all arrive at the World Cup as we are.
“We are enjoying every moment that we are together and seriously preparing ourselves when it is time to work, working on many things because it is the last time that we all have to be together, and there will not be much time before the first World Cup match.
“So, we took the opportunity to continue growing what we know and trying new things as well.”
