Do not count on Mauricio Pochettino to lament his fate, or to rail against the Covid-19 which deprives him of six players, and not least, for this shock of the 20th day against Lyon, this Sunday January 9 (8:45 p.m. ) in the Rhône. It is a Parisian coach while weighting who reacted on the eve of the perilous displacement of his team.
Even if Paris deplores no less than eleven absences and an attack to the bone, the Argentine coach considers that his role is not “more nor less difficult” than in normal times. We follow it if we count on the fact that the PSG has resources and can still count on a good twenty players including the young shoots of the training center. These, performing last Monday against Vannes in the Coupe de France (4-0), will also be involved and a Xavi Simons could have a chance at kickoff.
But unlike his evening opponent, less impacted by the health context and injuries, the championship leader will be deprived of many holders, starting with Leo Messi. Covid negative since the middle of the week, the Argentine star is continuing his recovery phase individually, as provided for in the new Football League protocol. With Neymar still in care after his sprained ankle, Di Maria and Draxler positive for the coronavirus, the entire front of the Parisian attack is depopulated.
Pochettino will therefore rely on Mbappé and most certainly on Icardi to animate this sector of strategic play. “They have different characteristics, but Mauro and Kylian can complement each other, and bring interesting things to each other,” said the Parisian coach. However, the time when Mbappé and Icardi displayed a good bond during the Argentinian’s first six months at PSG seems a long way off. Still, in these times troubled by the pandemic, the former Inter Milan is not too many in a workforce decimated by disease. And it is clear that his possible departure during the winter transfer window – to Juventus Turin or elsewhere – should necessarily be compensated by the recruitment of an axial striker of the same ilk.
The other question concerns the presence of Sergio Ramos or not at the kick-off. But it is difficult to see Pochettino dismantling his usual Marquinhos-Kimpembe hinge, to launch the Spaniard, lacking benchmarks, in a match where the intensity should not weaken. A year after his induction as PSG coach, and at the dawn of this second part of the season, Poche knows that his room for maneuver is not extendable. Even with a toothless attacking trident, he must give guarantees on the playing identity of his PSG. December’s three draws stuck in the throats of its leaders. It is now up to him to make them smile.
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