Although the trial failed, Pochettino eventually reversed the game with a magical adjustment. After Messi came off, the boss switched to 3 defenders and then adjusted Neymar to the No. 10 position. These two clever hands not only activated the Brazilian king, but also completely activated the team's attack, which can be called the winner and loser of this game. However, Messi's position has become more and more awkward in recent games when he has not even played the right side and the front position.
Facing Lille at home is a revenge battle for Greater Paris. Last season, it was the latter who ended a three-game streak in Paris. So in this game, Greater Paris has a strong desire for revenge. However, due to Mbappe's absence, Pochettino had to change sides, playing Messi as a pseudo-center, with Neymar and Di Maria as a support.
Behind them, Danilo plays as a single back, with Wijnaldum and Gye playing as centre-backs. But in practice, the Paris 433 formation kicked and kicked into 4123. Importantly, the five men in front of Paris are basically not defensive, and the goal of the other side in the first half is a true manifestation of the defensive emptiness of the Paris backcourt.
Messi did not adapt to the pseudo-No. 9, so the attacking performance of Paris in the first half was extremely bad, coupled with the Argentine was injured, so the boss replaced the former with Icardi at the beginning of the second half. In the 65th minute, the boss made another substitution adjustment, replacing Dagba and Mendes with two full-backs in one go, and switching the formation to 343.
Among them, single-back Danilo dragged behind, forming a 3-back with Marquinhos and Kimpembe. Di Maria and Neymar, on the other hand, received the middle and handed the flanks to the two wing-backs. It was these 2 adjustments that activated the team's offense.
Marquinhos' goal came from Neymar's instigation, and Di Maria's reversing goal came from a heavy cushion pass by Neymar. In addition, Neymar also gave Icardi a big single knife, but unfortunately the latter's shot was deflected and missed the opportunity to reverse the score early. It can be seen that in the absence of Messi and Mbappe at the same time, Neymar alone took over the game and became the real core of the Paris midfield.
Being adjusted and replaced when the team was behind, and witnessing Neymar leading the team to reverse on the bench, you can imagine how complicated Messi's feelings are at the moment. In the past few games, in order to activate Messi and find the most suitable position for the latter, the Argentine has played in the forward, right winger and even pseudo-center position, but the results have been poor. At present, Messi is more and more like a "chicken rib" for Greater Paris, abandoning it unfortunately, using it "tasteless", and even greatly affecting the team's offensive and defensive balance, which makes Messi's position in the team more and more embarrassing.