In what was going to suppose a party in style in the Parc des Princes for Messi for the achievement of his seventh Ballon d’Or, PSG could not go from a draw to zero against Nice in a rather poor game in general lines . Pochettino’s men continue to give the sensation of being a compendium of stars that still need to mesh the pieces to aspire to win the Champions League. The always critical French press, especially L’Équipe, today gave a wake-up call to Mbappé and Messi after their irregular performance yesterday against “Les Aiglons”.
The French international was, along with Messi, the worst valued for the French newspaper, receiving a 3 mark. “He was just as uninspired as his two offensive partners. Except for a good shot in the 27th minute that Benítez repelled, the world champion, lined up on the left wing, has been far from what he is capable of doing. Fthere was a heads up in the 64th minute against the Nice goalkeeper ”, underlines L’Équipe, who blamed Mbappé for a flagrant opportunity after a great pass from Messi that wasted Bondy’s talent.
With Messi, doubts are still established in France. The Argentine star has only one goal in 16 days of Ligue 1 and in Paris they begin to worry about the Rosario’s lack of scoring nose. L’Équipe has also scored a 3, criticizing the position of false 9 who played yesterday: “In the absence of Neymar, he played as a false nine. In the line of the last disappointing outings, he could not be saved by decisive gestures as he did against Saint-Étienne, something that could have changed if Mbappé had taken advantage of his great pass in the 64th minute ”, describes the prestigious French newspaper.
Le Parisien, more akin to PSG, has been even more critical of Messi. The Parisian newspaper describes the Argentine’s match yesterday as “an unworthy performance for a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner,” giving it a 3 as L’Équipe. Mbappé has not escaped criticism either, but the forward has received a 4, one point more than L’Équipe. On Saturday, PSG travel to Lens in one of the most complicated matches of the remainder of the year and in which Messi and Mbappé will seek to make up for their poor performances yesterday.