CNN
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Paris Saint-Germain's miserable season took a turn for the worse on Sunday when the team suffered a second successive defeat in a 1-0 loss to Lyon.
Lionel Messi complained to some PSG fans when his name appeared on the big screen while the starting line-up was being announced before the start of the game.
After Alexadre Lacazette missed a first-half penalty, Bradley Barcola's goal 10 minutes into the second period was enough to earn Lyon three points on a night when PSG never looked like threatening a visiting goal.
Lens' 1-0 win against Rennes and Marseille's 1-1 draw with Montepellier mean both teams are now just six points behind Ligue 1 leaders PSG and even the domestic title could be out of their grasp. It means something.
The reaction of some fans on Sunday may have felt a far cry from the praise and adoration Messi received during his return to Argentina for friendlies against Panama and Curaçao, where he continues his recent World Cup celebrations.
Messi's arrival at the Parc des Princes was seen as the missing piece that would help PSG win the Champions League, the trophy most coveted by the club's Qatari owners.
The only major trophy the team has won since Messi arrived was Ligue 1 last season. The title would likely have been won by PSG without Messi.
Messi has scored 34 goals (18 goals, 17 assists) in all competitions for PSG this season – second only to Mbappe's 38 – and coach Christophe Galtier has refused to lay the blame at the Argentine's feet for his team's failures. I did.
“I found it [the jeering] It’s hard to hear,” Galtier told reporters, per the Athletic. “There may be expectations that Messi and Mbappe will solve difficult situations. Messi tried very hard, but not everything worked out. But the other players around him have to do their part as well.”
“We can’t expect everything from Leo and Killian,” he added.
Next week for PSG is a season-defining one as Galtier's side travel to a Nice side unbeaten in 13 games before hosting Lens at the Parc des Princes.
PSG have lost two of their three games since being knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich last month and limped past relegation-threatened Brest with Kylian Mbappe's winner after 90 minutes.
After the team's win, Lyon coach Laurent Blanc said that the Champions League or lackluster mentality was detrimental to PSG's performance.
“The problem for Paris is that their No. 1 goal in the Champions League is no longer within reach, and at all levels it looks like the season no longer exists,” he told reporters.