DECRYPTION – For the first time this year, the capital club will have its “fantastic three” this Sunday (8:45 p.m.), in Rennes.
«If “Galette” is fair play, as we have two important players absent, he should be without two important players. I think that’s what he’s going to do.Signed Bruno Genesio. A joke that will obviously not be heard by Christophe Galtier this Sunday (8:45 p.m.), during the closing match of the 19th day of Ligue 1 which will pit Rennes against PSG, at Roazhon Park. At least not when it comes to the attacking trio. If he will be deprived of Presnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes or even Marco Verratti, all injured, “Galette” will indeed be able to count on his “MNM”, his “fantastic three“, for the first time since the World Cup and the beginning of the year.
Between the rest of some, the treatment and the suspension of others, Neymar, Leo Messi and Kylian Mbappé have not yet played together in 2023. The last named is back in business after a deserved rest. “He is ready to play, he has recovered well. Like Achraf (Hakimi), he is available for the group. He doesn’t seem marked by the disappointment of not having won this trophy, he is good, available, smiling. He trains normally, like a great professional“, Underlines the Parisian coach, who has had a hard time giving Paris Saint-Germain a boost since the cut linked to the 2022 World Cup.We have to have difficult matches. The more difficult they are, the better it is for us, it avoids falling into routine and ease“, he breathes.
Everyone must put themselves at the service of the team with their qualities.
Christophe Galtier
Not too difficult all the same, like a match which brought to light a certain number of flaws in Lens (3-1), on January 1, the first defeat in all competitions in 2022-23 for Red and Blue authors of a “great first part of the season“. And Galtier adds, on the areas of work: “You have to be more killer and give less hope to the opponent, insist on this right balance to avoid being cut in two. Everyone has to work for the team. There is only one thing that matters: the team. Everyone must put themselves at the service of the team with their qualities.»
The omnipotent “MNM”
Except that the team is above all at the service of the “MNM”, more essential than ever in Paris. There are the numbers (48 of PSG’s 71 goals since the start of the season), and everything else. The magic trio vampirizes everything, like a midfielder who has little say in terms of goals scored compared to last year. The explanation is found. “Our attackers who score a lot of goals and our game is made up of combinations very close to the surface. There is therefore very little room for the transition and projection of our environments“says Galtier, recalling that their first prerogatives mainly concern the balance and the supply of the attacking trio. “I give them a lot of freedom so I ask the circles to be very often in support“, he adds, recalling having “searched a lot“before finding the right formula, the one that would put the three stars”in their best zone. And when this is the case, it is their individual and collective qualities that make the difference.“, he slips again.
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Obviously, the three thieves make the difference. After a lackluster first season, Mbappé, Messi and Neymar have indeed found the right fuel in 2022-23. The whole question is whether the good impression of the start of the season can last post-World Cup, between the disappointment of “Ney” with Brazil, the fulfillment of a life for the “Pulga” with Argentina and the frustration of “Kyk’s” in Blue. All without talking about the personal goals of each other, such as the Ballon d’Or, Messi appearing as the logical favorite for an eighth crown but Mbappé, more influential than ever in Paris, being in ambush.
It’s up to me and my staff to quickly ensure that they can rediscover the pleasure of playing together, to reconnect and that we have a lot more connection between the lines than during the first post-World Cup matches.
Christophe Galtier
So far, everything is going well according to Galtier, who knows all the same that there is work to be done. “It’s important that they are togetherhe notes.. The reunion went very well. Kylian was very well received in the locker room but there was no doubt about it. He was well received by Ney, Leo, we also make sure that they are connected on the pitch. Our workforce has been dispersed for almost two months. We are only beginning to find collective sessions with our more balanced game sectors in the absence of having the entire workforce. We have few sessions but we make sure that the players find a connection in the game, the habits they had. Everyone left in their selection with automatisms to find and which automatically caused ours to be set aside. It’s up to me and my staff to quickly ensure that they can rediscover the pleasure of playing together, of reconnecting and that we have a lot more connection between the lines than during the first post-World Cup matches.»
A nice test in Rennes
This will be Christophe Galtier’s challenge in the coming weeks, and if possible by February 14, the date of the first leg against FC Bayern in the Champions League. And first of all, Rennes, this team that Galtier “always enjoy watching“, of which he praises at leisure the qualities of Bruno Genesio. A team that has been coughing since the resumption but which has won its last eight matches at home in L1 since the inaugural setback against Lorient (0-1). Moreover, Rennes has often played bad tricks on PSG in recent years. Clearly, it’s a good test for this PSG which will have to “be good technically so as not to give balls and avoid transitions“. If necessary, Kylian Mbappé, Leo Messi and Neymar Jr will have all the more ammunition in front. It is up to them to make good use of it… and to pull in the same direction.