Respect from opposing fans can be extremely hard to come by but football lovers are sometimes willing to temporarily put fierce rivalries aside and admire pre-eminence. That's exactly what happened on Saturday night when Lionel Messi delivered a sensational overhead kick in Paris Saint-Germain's 5-0 away win over Clermont Foot in the new season opener. 

In a magical passage of play, Leandro Paredes produced a long pass from deep towards the penalty box before Messi deftly brought the ball down in a way that only the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner could. With his back to goal, the Argentine showed world-class pieces of individual skill and improvisation by chipping the helpless goalkeeper with an acrobatic bicycle kick. 

Messi's flash of genius immediately brought the house down and as the 35-year-old wheeled away to celebrate his latest wonder goal, the home crowd at the Gabriel Montpied stadium stood and applauded the great maestro. Some Clermont fans even chanted Messi's name at the top of their lungs as if the PSG talisman was one of their own.

Despite Kylian Mbappe's absence, PSG were ruthless from start to finish and got their Ligue 1 title defense off to the best possible start.

It took only nine minutes for them to score their first goal of the season as Pablo Sarabia's low cross was flicked on by Messi before Neymar pulled the trigger. The visitors quickly doubled their advantage just before the half hour mark as Achraf Hakimi fired home in a counter-attack.  

Neymar created PSG's third as his free kick was diverted into the net by PSG captain Marquinhos. The unstoppable Brazilian then made a vital contribution to the fourth as he squared a perfect pass to an unmarked Messi, who converted the chance with ease.

Then came the most memorable goal of the opening day that capped off a marvelous night for Messi, who finally returned to his best level. It was a stark contrast to last season when Messi struggled to make an impact at PSG after leaving his boyhood club Barcelona.  

"A lot of satisfaction, first and foremost with the win," beamed PSG coach Christophe Galtier after the game. "Winning the game and scoring five goals is important, as is not conceding any chances and maintaining high levels throughout, even when the gaps were getting larger." 

"I liked the way that the team expressed itself in attack, of course. But also when the block needed to put in the team effort to win the ball back. There was a lot of effort put in for one and other, and putting in that effort for teammates is something that we are really insisting on a lot.

"I know that I have a very talented team with players who are very talented, but they need to play as a team, and that needs to happen over the whole of a match, and then throughout the season." 

Next up for PSG is a home clash with Montpellier and Galtier declared his team will continue to bring their attacking prowess into full play. "The most important thing is to score goals," he said. "That is in PSG's DNA and the DNA of the players here."