If Mauricio Pochettino wants to win the Champions League, he needs to find his best team quickly – with or without Neymar
By Eric Devin for Get French
Football News
Despite a frustrating loss to
Manchester City in the week, there was an air of celebration about PSG’s trip to Saint-Étienne on Sunday. The hosts, hamstrung by injuries and a lack of impactful signings this summer, had been largely uninspired under Claude Puel, even if they had experienced a slight upturn in form of late. Sergio Ramos made his long-awaited first start for the league leaders and it looked as if, even with Marco Verratti still absent, PSG could begin to have some sense of rhythm about their play.
Not topping their
Champions League group is a disappointment, but the squad is now largely fit and starting to
fire – as shown by Lionel Messi’s hat-trick of assists in the 3-1 win over Saint-Étienne, no mean feat even against 10 men. Perhaps progress could be made by using the league and cup matches between now and mid-March as a sort of tactical sandbox for Mauricio Pochettino. Indeed, there was already eager mention in L’Équipe of the potential to play with three at the back, with the more mobile Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe flanking Ramos.