Are we talking about Gueye and Verratti’s logging match?

At the Parc des Princes,

By taking a look at the Parisian lineup before kick-off against Manchester City, we were a little worried about Idrissa Gueye. With Hakimi on one side and Nuno Mendes on the other in defense, not to mention the little consideration of Messi and Neymar for the defensive thing, we could already imagine the PSG midfielder bailing full buckets of water in front of his defense. And then from the first minutes, the surprise. The former Lille resident was not the attendant at the sentry post, assigned to Marco Verratti. A role reversal that turned out to be a winner, thanks to Mauricio Pochettino.

The two men were absolutely monstrous throughout the meeting in controlling the citizen steamroller. They have been overwhelmed sometimes, following the collective movement, but if Paris did not sink, it is largely thanks to them. “Marco [Verratti], Win [Gueye], with Ander [Herrera] also, they gave us an important balance. They have done a phenomenal job, both offensively and defensively, judges their coach Mauricio Pochettino. We have great talents in attack but that requires being well prepared behind. “

Prepared, Verratti was not really, with her knee injury which had kept her away from the field since the international break. But the Italian is not the type to take 107 years to get into the bath. He dives into it without his hands and sends back those who dare to approach him in the paddling pool next door. At his own pace, without ever giving the impression of forcing. His return has changed the face of Paris, and hurts Pep Guardiola’s men very much.

Verratti? “He is really a player apart”

The Spanish coach paid him a tribute to him after the meeting. We weren’t even very far from the marriage proposal. “I’m in love with him. He is an exceptional player, he manages to play very calmly under pressure, with this touchdown, this ability to make the extra pass, greets Pep. I’m glad he’s back from his injuries, he’s a really special player. He’s not going to do big crosses like others, but he knows his environment, he knows where to find his teammates in small spaces. It was a little better after the break but we were too soft on him in the first half. “

In addition to guiding the game, the Italian collected balls in packs of 12. And when it was not him, De Bruyne, Bernardo and Graelish had to struggle with his henchman. Perfect in his role of buffer between the middle and the attack, Idrissa Gueye has also done a crazy job. The man who resisted even the horrible soles right on the shin (cc KDB) had to run 127 kilometers (according to the police) and even paid the luxury of cleaning Ederson’s left skylight to put his team on track from the start. Already his fourth goal since the end of August, a record for a whole season equaled.

“It wasn’t on purpose [la lucarne] He laughs, before explaining how he and his colleagues taught their opponents about life. “We suffered but it was not very complicated because there was not a lot of rhythm in front. They were trying to move from left to right, but since we were in place, it was easy for us to defend, he analyzes. It was enough to stay compact. We could maybe leave them on the sides, it didn’t matter if they were doing crosses because we had players in the center to push them back. “

Elected man of the match, Gueye more than contributed to the success of the plan fomented by Pochettino. “Thanks to the environment, we were able to master the phrases of the game where we were under pressure,” notes the coach. We were sometimes dominated but we knew how to suffer, to work together. When these players are at this level, it is immediately easier to survive the grains that fall on you.