“
If they continue like this, watch out for France and watch out for Europe too!
Signed Thierry Henry, about the "MNM".
After a so-so debut last season, it's a mild understatement, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar Jr and Lionel Messi finally seem launched as the Champions League looms and this first shock against Juventus this Tuesday (9 p.m., on Canal+ and RMC Sport 1).
The numbers speak for themselves: 20 goals and 12 assists in seven matches in all competitions this season for the three stars.
Mad.
Held back by injuries and suspensions, the cautious tactical orientations of Mauricio Pochettino too, the trio had only shown their potential in snatches, and especially at the end of the campaign, after the crash against Real, far too late.
"
It's a shame that it's only happening now
, ”squealed Mbappé in April, when his future was still uncertain, after a card in Clermont (1-6).
This time, the three members of this famous "MNM" are there, together, in great shape.
To discover
Champions League fixtures and results
This is nothing new for Mbappé, who has scored seven goals in five matches.
Cannon start.
It's more surprising for Messi, unrecognizable in 2021-22, found in 2022-23.
The makeover at 35.
If he has sometimes lacked success in front of the cage, the seven-time Ballon d'Or has scored four goals and delivered six assists in seven outings.
Beyond the statistics, his influence in the game is immense, beyond measure.
“
From the moment he has made a complete preparation, he has his bearings in terms of his family life, but also in the club, the team, his partners, there is no reason for Leo not to make a great season
", dropped Galtier at the beginning of August, in Clermont (0-5), noting that "
when Messi smiles, the whole team smiles
".
The "Pulga" had just scored a double, including an acrobatic return.
“
We can pay to see players like that
,” ignited CF63 coach Pascal Gastien.
Neymar “irreproachable”
And Neymar Jr?
Nine goals and six assists in seven outings, a top physique and "
irreproachable
" behavior, according to Galtier.
Day and night, even if the 30-year-old Brazilian had (a little) raised his voice at the end of the season.
Not enough to avoid appearing in the transfers section of the gazettes all summer and to finish the last exercise under the boos of a Parc des Princes which he (again) returned.
“
I have nothing to reproach him for.
At the club, everyone is satisfied with their investment and their services
,” the Parisian coach summed up recently.
Read alsoChampions League: where to see PSG-Juventus and five questions about the match
The World Cup effect is probably not for nothing.
The tactical choices of the staff also.
"
Ney
" and Messi have probably also wanted to prove to the world of football that they are not finished, heartbroken by the criticism of recent months, while Mbappé must assume his new status as "
the cornerstone of the club and the project
”, according to “
NAK
”, after its extension.
"My role hasn't changed at all," he said.
"
I'm still in the same role as last season, I'm trying to do the same job, be efficient on the pitch, as decisive as possible and win all the titles possible...
" One thing is certain: the three stars have changed gear in terms of investment, withdrawals, in short, collective.
"
We have to create something where we would not be taken off from the collective, defensively or offensively
”, guessed “KM” in the fall of 2021. This is what we see.
"
Are you defending yourself now?"
“, chambered Antoine Kombouaré at the end of July, at the Champions Trophy, addressing Neymar.
The Brazilian would deserve this praise in every game.
Ditto for Messi and Mbappé.
Collective awareness.
Everything is not perfect
An essential revelation that allows the "MNM" to exist.
We could also doubt Christophe Galtier's appetite to rely on this trio at the start of the season, when he explained that he wanted to associate Kylian Mbappé with "
a fixation point in the surface
".
This is not really the profile of Neymar or Leo Messi… It is said that PSG dreamed of Robert Lewandowski this summer… But the Pole did not come.
Neither did Gianluca Scamacca.
To see the three Parisian stars evolve for a big month, we imagine that “Galette” finds nothing to complain about…
Read alsoChampions League: "I don't think we're favorites in C1", the essence of Galtier's press conference
Of course, not everything is perfect.
Facing Montpellier (5-2), Mbappé and Neymar bickered for a penalty.
"
There is no discomfort
," quickly eluded Galtier.
Since then, no wave.
On the contrary.
To see what will happen when it comes to knowing who would take a decisive penalty in the 90th minute in the C1 final… “
It is not because we are number 1 that we take all the penalties
”, promises Mbappé, who could also be destabilized by the Pogba affair.
“
It's his word against his brother's… I'm going to trust his team-mate, in the interest of the selection too.
He's already in some trouble, it's not the time to add more for him... We'll see how it goes, I'm pretty detached from all that
“, he lets go.
We also saw that the trio could be muzzled by putting on muscle, like against Monaco (1-1).
Last but not least, and despite their goodwill, there are sometimes holes in the racket defensively.
Assumed imbalance.
And the others are ready to run for them.
“
I know that if we play two (in the middle), it allows us to put the three phenomena in front.
We have to make efforts behind and we do them with pleasure.
It's always an honor to play with these great players
, ”slips Marco Verratti.
An honor for the other Parisian players, a pleasure for the eyes in the stands and... hell for the opponents.
Most of them anyway.
The talent is there, gigantic.
Devastating in small spaces, unstoppable in transition.
To see if the solid Juve finds the key to stop the Parisian machine and limit the impact of this "MNM" which dreams of being equal to the "BBC" (Benzema, Bale, Ronaldo) or the "MSN" (Messi, Suarez , Neymar).
“The goal is to put the three in the best conditions because we are three
“game changers”,
players who can change the match”,
said boss Kylian Mbappé in 2021, on Amazon.
And the course of the club's history?