It probably is too soon to tell, but Lionel Messi seems to be on the right track to fulfilling his PSG club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi's promise made last month.

Messi netted just 11 goals in all competitions for PSG last season but the French club president said last month that in 2022/23 "we will see the best version of Messi ever."

Messi was among the scorers on Wednesday but PSG were made to work hard for a 2-1 win over Kawasaki Frontale in the first match of their pre-season Japanese tour.

Star forward Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all started in new PSG manager Christophe Galtier's first game in charge of his full squad in front of a crowd of 65,000 at Tokyo's National Stadium.

Messi opened the scoring with a 32nd-minute shot but a much-changed PSG line-up in the second half could manage only one more goal through substitute Arnaud Kalimuendo.

J-League champions Kawasaki pulled a goal back in the 84th minute when Kazuya Yamamura headed home unmarked to set up a nervy finish.