French league chief Paris Saint-Germain faces its hardest check of the season Sunday when it travels to play a Lens facet which has gained all of its house video games.
Victory for second-place Lens would transfer it 4 factors behind defending champion PSG, which might be with out the suspended Neymar and World Cup winner Lionel Messi, who is predicted again in coaching early subsequent week.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier’s facet is unbeaten after 16 video games however he’s bracing himself for an intense conflict.
“This game against Lens has top billing because they’ve won all their home matches,” Galtier stated Friday. “(Lens coach) Franck Haise has created a dynamic there and the atmosphere will be extraordinary.”
Messi and Neymar are stage for many assists within the league with 10, whereas Neymar’s tally of 12 objectives is second solely to teammate Kylian Mbappé with 13.
Their mixed absence considerably weakens PSG’s assault.
“It’s not a trivial matter,” Galtier stated. “We know their importance.”
While Galtier knew he can be with out Messi, who was given additional time without work to rejoice his World Cup win again house in Argentina, Neymar’s suspension pressured Galtier to rethink. Neymar was despatched off in a 2-1 win in opposition to Strasbourg on Wednesday for gathering two yellow playing cards in speedy succession, the second for diving within the penalty space.
“Straight after Wednesday’s game we thought about how we would organize ourselves (against Lens),” Galtier stated. “We worked yesterday and today on finding the best organization possible. I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to do.”
Lens favors a high-octane urgent strategy and may be very harmful on the counter-attack, so PSG will search to keep away from being dragged right into a midfield battle the place shedding the ball may show pricey.
PSG’s most suitable choice with out Messi and Neymar to hyperlink up play might be to launch Mbappé from deep, so he can use his tempo in opposition to the Lens protection.
Mbappé rescued PSG with a stoppage-time penalty in opposition to Strasbourg, the place PSG’s weak spot in opposition to assaults down the flanks was simply uncovered when Strasbourg equalized.
Mbappé was taking part in solely 10 days after scoring a hat trick within the World Cup closing, and Galtier hailed his motivation to play so quickly for PSG after shedding with France.
“(It) shows his mindset and mentality. He’s growing as a player every day,” Galtier stated. “He’s played 56 games and scored 56 goals in 2022. How lucky we are to have a player like that.”
SPOTLIGHT ON BEN SEGHIR
Monaco coach Philippe Clement has vowed to guard teenage midfielder Eliesse Ben Seghir from the highlight after he made a sensational league debut.
The 17-year-old midfielder got here off the bench to attain twice — together with an Mbappé-style curling winner — to assist Monaco win 3-2 at Auxerre in midweek.
Ben Seghir has been the discuss of French soccer since and all eyes will on him if he performs at house in opposition to Brest on Sunday.
“I can say that he won’t be giving any interviews in the coming weeks. We’ll wait for him to gain some experience before that, because I want him to concentrate on football,” Clement stated Friday. “We know agents are coming, new friends are coming, and new girlfriends, too. I’ve spoken to him about it. Eliesse is a winner, he knows there are pitfalls on the way to becoming a great player. That’s also my role as a coach, but also a little bit as a second father to the young players.”
Although Ben Seghir caught the attention with the informal brilliance of his talent and his deadly ending, Clement was not shocked.
“I’m not saying I had a crystal ball telling me he’d score twice, but I knew that he could help the team with his ability,” Clement stated. “We’d spoken about it together for weeks.”
