The labors of Hercules by the Marco Verratti-Vitinha duo guarantee the "
balance
" of Paris Saint-Germain dear to Christophe Galtier, but the collectors risk overheating, before a big match in Lyon, Sunday (8:45 p.m.) for the 8th day of League 1.
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Of course, the great form of Neymar and the backfiring departure of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi carry the successful start to the season for PSG.
But, a little more in the shade, the great efficiency of the pair of recuperators weighs heavily.
“
I am satisfied with the association Marco and Viti, players with a lot of activity and volume, but also very good footballers
”, underlines the coach.
"
And it's very important, for the game that I want to develop, to have good midfielders at the heart of the game
," insists Galtier.
Read alsoPSG: Galtier salutes the defensive work of Neymar, the most involved in the MNM
As in mathematics, the theorem of Marco and Viti can be demonstrated by the absurd: the first difficult period in Haifa for the Parisians, shaken by Maccabi (1-1 at the break), left the Italian and the Portuguese to scoop the four corners of the middle.
“
From the moment we all defend less together, the two boys can be in difficulty
,” admits Galtier.
SEE ALSO -
The historic career of Marco Verratti at Paris Saint-Germain
Wave upon wave in Haifa
In Haifa, in the Champions League, "
there was too much distance, when we were cut in half we couldn't win the second balls, it was wave after wave
," he laments.
PSG won (3-1) when the Israelis paid for their efforts, but also when the "
eleven
" began to defend better collectively, with a better coordinated participation in the pressing of the three front arrows, Messi, Neymar and Mbappe.
Galtier repeats that the balance is difficult to find, between the first pressing of the "MNM", of which he is generally satisfied, with a special mention for Neymar ("
the one of the three who has the best defensive withdrawal
", underlines-t- he), and the distance with the defense at three.
But Verratti, "
in exceptional form
", according to Galtier, and Vitinha spend a lot, with a match every three days, which will not decrease for these internationals engaged in the League of Nations with their country.
"
They chained a lot
", recognizes the coach, "
even if Marco, in the last four matches (Editor's note: the last three in Ligue 1), came out quite early, in anticipation of the sequence of matches
".
The two midfielders were regularly replaced, from the hour mark, and each played only one complete match: Verratti against Monaco (1-1), "
Viti
" in Toulouse (3-0 victory) .
Essential
But for now the duo is essential.
Verratti has played every game in all competitions and Vitinha has only missed Monaco, through suspension, after three yellow cards in his first four matches.
Incidentally, the "Little Owl", he only collected two in ten games, all competitions combined, much better compared to his standards, 139 yellow in 467 matches, according to the Transfermarkt site.
Read alsoPSG: Galtier “never thought of removing” the armband from Marquinhos
For the moment it is difficult for Galtier to make them breathe otherwise.
Among their potential replacements, Renato Sanches is injured, and moreover he has not yet been very convincing, and Danilo Pereira is called upon in central defense during the convalescence of Presnel Kimpembe.
“
There are other possible associations
”, considers Galtier, “
we can find ourselves in three midfielders, for example during the match and offer more play in the transition
”.
For Lyon, "
I have not yet made my decision on how to constitute the environment tomorrow evening and with whom
".
But “
everyone is well
”, assures the coach, “
and everyone wants to play this match
”, against an OL in decline after two consecutive defeats.
For Galtier, “
it's a big meeting
”, one more to verify Marco and Viti's theorem.