After Paris Saint-Germain defeated Toulouse 2-1 to move eight points clear atop the Ligue, Christophe Galtier praised Lionel Messi for yet another game-winning performance.

Renato Sanches, a midfielder, left the pitch in tears after joining the injured list that now includes Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Sergio Ramos on Saturday, dealing PSG an early setback at Parc des Princes.

After 20 minutes, Toulouse unexpectedly took the lead with a free-kick by Branco van den Boomen, which changed the course of the game.

Seven minutes before halftime, Achraf Hakimi equalized with a beautiful left-foot finish from 20 yards out after cutting in from the right. They responded like champions.

The mercurial Messi then received a helping hand from Hakimi, and his first-time effort from outside the box increased PSG's lead over Marseille, who will play Nice on Sunday.

For the 16th consecutive season, Messi has scored at least 10 goals in one of the top five European leagues. This is the first time he has done it for the Parisian giants.

Galtier, the head coach of PSG, was pleased with how his team bounced back after losing Sanches and falling behind.

❤️ VICTORY 💙#PSGTFC pic.twitter.com/FjWtPc3Vck— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) February 4, 2023

He said: "We had a tough start to the match with Renato's injury early on. I decided to bring on El Chadaille [Bitshiabu] very quickly, he's been showing for many weeks that he's Ligue 1 level.

"We knew Toulouse's quality from set-pieces. They are one of the most dangerous teams in Ligue 1 from set-pieces. But overall we controlled the game. We had to get back on level terms and take risks against a very compact defence.

"In that sense, Achraf, as he did against Montpellier even though the goal was ruled out, this time scored with his left foot.

"Then the second half was much better for us going forward even though we needed to be careful of the balance of the team. Marqui [Marquinhos] and Chad, who I think won the ball most today, were great centre-backs today, one young and one with experience were able to stop the Toulouse counter-attacks.

"We were able, thanks to Leo's quality and his determination, to take the team to victory and win in a game that seemed like we should have won."