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PSG: how will Pochettino manage his troops before Manchester City?

2021-04-20T06:25:05.173Z


Faced with numerous absences, the Argentinian coach is rather cautious in managing the return of injuries. He does not hesitate, in r


This time, no telecommuting!

After having "directed", through the voice of his assistants, the Ligue 1 match against Angers from his hotel room on January 17, due to Covid, Mauricio Pochettino will be on the PSG bench at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday , 6:45 p.m., for the reunion with the SCO in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France.

Will the Argentinian coach invite some of his stars to sit there, or even to breathe a little in the stands?

Only certainty, a week before receiving Manchester City next Wednesday, in the semi-finals of the Champions League, it is on a thread that Mauricio Pochettino and his staff will cross the meetings in front of Angers on Wednesday and on the lawn of Metz, Saturday in the league.

Because, as Alain Perrin reminds us, “Paris has suffered enough from repeated injuries not to know the dangers linked to the accumulation of matches.

We are in the home stretch, Pochettino cannot take the risk of losing some of his executives on the way.

He knows that players who get injured now have a good chance of being out until the end of the season.

"

Involve the second knives

A reason which explains, without doubt, why the Argentinian coach is showing a certain caution in his way of managing the return of the injured to competition. Sunday, on the occasion of the reception of Saint-Etienne, Marco Verratti, already replacing Wednesday against Bayern Munich for his first post-coronavirus summons, only entered for the last 23 minutes of the meeting. The same playing time as Mauro Icardi, whose thigh injury had kept him away from the pitch since March 17. And all the stars are housed in the same boat. Di Maria was entitled to a gradual return to Brest (24 minutes) and against Barcelona (31 minutes) before regaining a starting place. Same treatment for Neymar. Whether it's ankle problems, adductors or post-birthday gastroenteritis,the Brazilian has always made his return from injury on the bench since the arrival of Pochettino.

“Wisdom” and “logic”, according to Alain Perrin, who explains that depending on “the type of injury and the length of unavailability” gradual returns are required.

But there can also be a bit of strategy.

“Sometimes, it is also so complex to manage the ego of certain stars, that an injury or even a sore is the good excuse to put them to rest and to give play time to the others.

Because the stake is there, too.

In addition to preserving its executives, the coach must also maintain the involvement of his “second knives”, essential cogs in more “affordable” matches as are, on paper, those against Angers or Metz.

"Sometimes a cut is the best way to regain some pep"

The Argentine coach knows, having seen Bayern lose his gunner Robert Lewandowski, Manchester City worrying about Kevin De Bruyne, or having lost Marquinhos and Abdou Diallo in recent days, the importance of not pulling too much on the rope. . In Paris, however, there are separate cases. Presnel Kimpembe, who has only blown in the three Coupe de France games since February, is one. Kylian Mbappé is another. The top scorer in Ligue 1 is, with 23 games played (including 21 as a starter) out of 24 possible, the Parisian player to have been the most used since Mauricio Pochettino took office in January. Even Keylor Navas, in a position that usually wins the medal for hard work, played 400 minutes less than the French world champion in 2021.A pace that makes Perrin say that he "would be careful this week on the playing time" granted to Mbappé.

“But I think Pochettino will take the time to reflect and discuss with the players concerned,” he finished. In a week like this, there are several options. The player is given the last 30 minutes of play and / or the first 60 to avoid aligning him with a full game. Or we skip one of the two matches, preferably the trip before the most important meeting. Sometimes a cut is the best way to regain some energy. "

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2021-04-20

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