On Monday, Paris Saint Germain boss Mauricio Pochettinho defended Lionel Messi over his decision after his side taking the victory 2-1 over Olympique Lyonnais in the French Ligue 1 and mentioned that the Argentinian star was okay with the decision despite both of them exchanging words with each other. Lionel Messi made his third appearance for Paris Saint Germain as it didn’t turn out to be going well for him as his shot hit the post in the opening 20 minutes, since leaving his parent club FC Barcelona. He failed to hit the target as he was seen angry and puzzled later when Pochettinho substituted him in the 75th minute.
The pair didn’t shake hands as Lionel Messi was replaced by full-back player Achraf Hakimi in the 75th minute. The former Barcelona superstar looked shocked and puzzled by this decision made by the manager initially. Pochettino on his latest press conference mentioned “I think we all know we have great players in this 35-man squad. Only 11 can play, we can’t play more. The decisions in the game are made for the good of the team and each player.” He later added by mentioning “These are decisions that have to be made by the coach. As for his reaction, I asked him how he was, he said he was okay.”
PSG boss also said that the decision to substitute Lionel Messi was not a controversial issue or any problem for the player itself. This was Messi’s third game he played for a club other than Barcelona. The match ended with a 2-1 victory with Mauro Icardi scoring at the end of the second half to give his team the victory. PSG’s next game is against Metz on Wednesday, as they look forward to making it seven wins in a row.
