“They [PSG] are carrying three, they’ve got absolutely no chance of winning the Champions League”
Jamie Carragher believes that Paris Saint-Germain’s inability to work as a team collectively and allow their front three to only attack will prevent them from winning the Champions League.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were beaten 2-1 by Manchester City on Wednesday night after goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus cancelled out Kylian Mbappe’s opener.
Despite the embarrassment of riches and quality the PSG side possesses, they have still yet to win a Champions League and with arguably the best front three in the world – Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappe – are touted as one of the favourites this year.
But many have made the observation that whilst this attacking trio is so talented, their reluctance to help out defensively isn’t helping the team function as well as it should.
Carragher was no different and didn’t hold back in his assessment of the French side and he thinks that other teams are more likely to win the Champions League as a result of working as a team together.
Speaking on American channel CBS, the former Liverpool defender said: “I just don’t believe teams can carry anybody now.
Let’s say the four teams who I think one of them will win the Champions League – Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea or Bayern Munich – they do not carry one passenger in the team.
“They [PSG] are carrying three, they’ve got absolutely no chance of winning the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain, absolutely no chance.”
“I don’t believe teams can carry anybody now”@carra23 believe PSG won’t win the #UCL because of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe 👀 pic.twitter.com/CkQcRWLQX2
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 24, 2021
Carragher then went on to pin his frustrations on goalscorer Mbappe, who he feels should be doing more work to help his team from a defensive perspective.
“I get frustrated watching it because with Mbappe more than anybody,” revealed the pundit.
“I can almost understand Messi to a certain extent, he’s 34, he has to save himself for certain moments. I still don’t think they can carry him, let’s not forget Barcelona haven’t won a Champions League for a long time.
“But Mbappe is 22, he should be sprinting back and getting back helping his teammates against a top Man City team. This thing about walking around the pitch, it’s not for me.
“When I see [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mane for Liverpool sprinting everywhere, I see [Kevin] De Bruyne, I see [Riyad] Mahrez, Raheem Sterling the same, Thomas Muller for Bayern Munich, [Robert] Lewandowski.
“I just can’t accept, I don’t care how good they are, that they don’t work for the team. The days of carrying passengers are long gone.”
Related links:
- PSG adamant Mauricio Pochettino will not leave for Man United before end of season
- PSG players believe Zinedine Zidane becoming their new manager is ‘imminent’
- Mbappe insists he’s “happy” at PSG but fails to distance himself from Real Madrid links
