3 Talking Points from PSG's dominant 3-0 win over Marseille
3. Has Neymar absence helped Christophe Galtier find the right system?
Nobody is saying PSG is better without a member of the MNM than with all three present in the lineup and from the start of games, right? Hmmm... Let me doubt it for a minute.
Paris Saint-Germain welcomed back Mbappe against OM after he missed the Coupe de France affair between both teams while missing Neymar (out for three-to-four weeks at the very least). The results? PSG lost 2-1 in the cup but won 0-3 on Sunday.
Without Neymar available putting together a lineup was an easy task for Galtier, at least when it comes to the midfield/forward organization. It was always going to be Mbappe leading the team, trailed by Messi located a bit deeper, the two of them backed by three midfielders with a pivot (Marco Verratti) and two slightly-more-advanced creators (Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz).
It worked wonders. Messi was able to touch a lot of balls and to create from deeper places, which clearly suits him best these days. Mbappe had an open highway forward chasing passes into open spaces. Ruiz and Vitinha were freed from dealing with Neymar's bitching and pass demands, straight looking for Mbappe and Messi ahead of them.
Neymar was fantastic before the World Cup but came back in damaged-good conditions and never really caught fire from January on. This might be just a one-off, one-game random occurrence... or perhaps Neymar's absence paired with Galtier's solution is about to change PSG's season entirely, see the team advance past Bayern, and make a run toward Champions League glory.
And that might only be the start because if it all ends up working out for Paris Saint-Germain, there are suitors already there waiting for PSG to rid themselves of Neymar. Changes, changes...