PSG – Lionel Messi, Neymar, Di Maria, Mbappé: how to judge the start of the “Fantastic 4” season

A rare cast since it was only the third time this season that the “Fantastic Four” were aligned together after Lyon (2-1) and Rennes (2-0). Result: a goalless draw, without great thrills or great emotion. As often this season. Proof that Mauricio Pochettino’s work is at least as immense as the talent of these four men. Focus on their respective start to the season and the areas for improvement to be considered.

Messi, isolated and still silent

His start of the season : That of a double of the best player in the world who reigned at Camp Nou, in Spain and in Europe. There are many mitigating circumstances: a period of adaptation necessary for the man as well as the player to his new environment, two international cuts which delayed his taking of marks, an offensive animation at half mast around him and a use that poses question.

Sunday like Tuesday against Leipzig, the question was the same: what is he doing stuck in this right lane when each of his stalls in the axis brings danger? At 34, Messi needs movement around him rather than creating it on his own. If his relationship with Mbappé begins to draw recurring launches for the future, if his first half against OM was that of a player who takes his responsibilities, he is still far below what we expected from him. Basically, its positioning is as much a part of the problem as it is part of the answer.

The statement that sums it all up (Thierry Henry for Amazon Prime): “What is he doing right? Frankly I do not know. […] I do not understand. I see him isolated there. I’m not saying he’s sad on the right, but he’s isolated, he touches the ball less. Hakimi spends less because often Leo has stayed high and aside, without coming in“.

The stat that causes talk : 0 goal and 0 assist in L1 in 280 minutes of play. A frankly unusual statistical performance for him, which also denotes that of C1 (3 goals in 3 matches). According to Opta, he is the L1 player who has the highest total of excepted Goals (1.8) without ever having found the net.

Areas for improvement : They are many. For PSG to finally run at a pace that matches its ambitions, Messi will no doubt have to take control of operations. In the axis, it goes without saying. It is as much a cause of hope for Paris as a necessity in view of an increasingly depressing game fund. Physically, the Argentinian will also move upmarket after a busy summer and back to school. By February and the first burning deadlines for PSG, it’s a safe bet that it will be at a pace closer to that seen in Catalonia.

Neymar, missing

His start of the season : His sinking of the Vélodrome will only have been the symbol of the start of the season which questions: have we definitively lost Neymar? Less physically sharp, the Brazilian lost the back stroke that made his splendor. This loss of confidence in his physical abilities results in a technical level inconceivable for a player of undeniable natural genius.

His attitudes during the match, between non-existent pressing, bad moods and recurring bad choices draw a disturbing dynamic which we do not see the end. Sometimes on the left, sometimes in the axis, he has not yet regained his Barcelona complicity with Messi and has even lost sequences with Mbappé which seemed natural in the past seasons.

The statement that sums it all up (Neymar, to Gaffer magazine last January): “I will never lose the passion for football, but I had times when I wanted to stop playing“.

The stat that causes talk : 3. As the number of goals scored “in the game” with PSG since the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino. The last dates back to last May, an eternity. Overall, since the Argentine sat on the bench, his statistical influence has melted like snow in the sun (1 goal, 2 assists this season).

Areas for improvement : For him, it is no longer a tactical question but first of all a physical and mental one. His last very hectic weeks in Brazil have suggested a discomfort about his status and a doubt about his real ability to find the answers to the questions that currently parasitize him. If he succeeds, there is no doubt that the Brazilian will once again be able to magnify certain Parisian evenings. Otherwise, the season (and the following ones) may be long …

Angel Di Maria, already sacrificed?

His start of the season : Less in light than that of his friends. As usual. Di Maria is less expected than Messi, less observed than Neymar but overall remains disappointing. Absent in C1 due to suspension, he had a discreet start to the season, which was reflected in statistics that fell behind his Parisian standards (1 goal, 2 assists). When the Fantastic 4 are aligned, it is he who is appointed to make efforts that others do not, as was the case in Marseille or against Lyon.

Sometimes to the right, his preferred position, sometimes to the left as in Marseille, El Fideo is wandered according to the desires of his coach and the three thieves at his side. Chosen at the hour mark by Mauricio Pochettino to make way for Thilo Kehrer after the exclusion of Achraf Hakimi, he found the costume of the sacrificed he knows only too well at PSG. At the time of Cavani-Neymar-Mbappé, he had found his place. This time, it’s even stronger in front.

The statement that sums it all up (Di Maria at Téléfoot’s microphone on Sunday): “It’s difficult when you have these three players in front of you. You have to work well and then it’s the coach who decides“

The stat that causes talk : In his last ten matches played (5 with Argentina, 5 with PSG), he was only decisive once.

Areas for improvement : For him too the return to school will have been busy, especially with Argentina. Yet natural, his technical relationship with Messi is still embryonic, not helped by a positioning often opposed to that of the Pulga. If he finds his favorite right side, he can be the perfect complement to Achraf Hakimi, by his ability to do more defensive work than the others but especially by deserting the corridor to enter the axis and thus free the Moroccan. .

Mbappé, the real X factor of PSG

His start of the season : That of a man whom Mauricio Pochettino cannot do without. Where his cronies present worrying stats for players of this caliber, he has remained true to his reputation and standards despite less impressive figures in front of goal (14 matches, 6 goals, 8 assists). His ability to make differences by speed or by dribbling before moving on to the right gesture will have saved many situations.

Mainly used in the axis, the Bondy bomb has often enjoyed depth, the only weapon of a minimalist game fund of PSG. Good thing, it is in this area that it does the most damage. His relationship with Messi is as much subject to improvement as it is hopeful for the future, while his agreement with Neymar has experienced some hitches that have made people talk. But no doubt: if Paris is dependent on a man, it is good on him.

The stat that causes talk : 1199 minutes played with the PSG, much more than his colleagues in front despite an equally busy schedule with the Blues, the baroque match schedules in less. Behind Presnel Kimpembe, he is the one who has played the most in Paris this season, far ahead of his attacking friends (675 minutes for Neymar, 550 for Messi and 436 for Di Maria). Did you say essential?

The statement that sums it all up (Nicolas Anelka at Parisian): “For me, Mbappé must be the boss of the attack because he is at the forefront. Neymar gives him the balloons. Messi was also the goalscorer in Barcelona but there he has to serve Mbappé. Because number one is him. In every match from the start, he’s the one who makes the difference“.

Areas for improvement : The worst (for his opponents) is that they exist. Against Marseille, he was often trapped offside and must gain patience as his top speed gives him a comfortable lead. Back to goal, his progress is real but can even more benefit the rest of the troop, as in Messi’s goal against Manchester City (2-0). And, a sign that it can become even more worrying, it can still improve in the last gesture. History of becoming a little more decisive, if that is still possible …