PARIS: It’s been a moment fans have been waiting for since Lionel Messi was introduced as a Paris Saint-Germain player almost two months ago.

The Argentine star has yet to score a goal for his new club, and he chose the perfect moment to open a scoring account with the French club in the Champions League Group A clash against Manchester City.

Messi put PSG 2-0 ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side in the 74th minute, a goal in his 17th consecutive Champions League campaign-matching Karim Benzema’s record a few minutes earlier.

Guardiola – who has had many successes with Messi in Barcelona – considers his former protégé difficult to stop.

“I don’t usually celebrate goals, but this one I do. I’ve seen him score a lot of goals before as an opponent, so for the first time I’m on the right bench and can celebrate,” said PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Messi also admitted that he was desperate to score after finishing his career at Barcelona with 672 goals in 778 appearances.

“It’s true I’m more and more desperate to get the first goal,” said Messi, who is making his fourth appearance for Pochettino’s squad.