First doubts for Pochettino in France

The results of PSG this season, reaping only two defeats, one of them in the August Super Cup, have not convinced the French press about the figure of Pochettino. The Argentine coach is sowing doubts about his latest approaches, entrusting himself to the talent of Mbappé, who has been involved in the last five goals that the Parisian team has scored, divided into two against Angers and three against Leipzig.

Le Parisien, half akin to PSG, assures that, for the moment, there is an “invisible style” of Pochettino at PSG. Since he arrived in January, the Santa Fe has not managed to establish a recognizable style, either due to the number of injuries that the team has accumulated throughout the year or due to the fact of having a squad of great individuals that do not give him margin of maneuver when making decisions.

On Monday, before facing Leipzig, Pochettino said the team needed time to progress, drawing a parallel with winning teams like Guardiola’s City or Ferguson’s United, who won nothing in their first seven years. However, despite the good results achieved in Ligue 1 and in Europe, the former Tottenham coach is being criticized for the lack of tactical variants when facing the matches. The individual talent, especially Mbappé, is making up for the collective shortcomings of a squad that is designed to win the Champions League.

However, on Tuesday, Pochettino improved the team with his field management against Leipzig. With 1-2 on the scoreboard, the coach decided to switch to three centrals with the entry of Danilo to give his sides, Nuno and Achraf, more freedom in the rival field. The experiment, unprecedented to date during this course, improved PSG and managed to come back in the final stretch of the match. “Coaches are here to find solutions throughout the game,” Poche stressed at a press conference. On Sunday, the Parisians will have against Marseille one of the most important games of the season in which Pochettino plays a lot, since a defeat could increase criticism around his figure in Paris.