Things are not the same at Paris Saint-Germain after their victory over Lyon on Sunday night in Ligue 1.
The French media have written on Monday that the PSG coach, Mauricio Pochettino, is not at all safe after the action he took against Lyon where he decided to replace the star Lionel Messi. In the 76th minute, Pochettino replaced Messi with Achraf Hakim, a decision that was not well received by the Argentine star. In fact, Messi did not even extend his hand to the coach while he was going to the bench, and exchanged a few words with Pochettino. The bitterness was evident in him.
For Messi, this was the first game in the championship that he started for PSG. Before this duel, he had played only 24 minutes in the trip to Reims.
Pochettino's decision seems to have not been received well at all in the French club, especially among the owners from the rich family of Qatar. On Monday, a relative of PSG owner Khalifa Bin Hammad Al Thani delivered a strong message on social media for Pochettino. On Twitter, he posted a photo of Pochettino who is seen greeting and wrote the message: "London is a beautiful city, you know." With this, according to the media, he hinted that Pochettino may leave to return to London, the city where he lived while he was in charge of Tottenham.
Even football experts in France have warned Pochettino about the action, although they have justified the coach. In fact, it was substitute Mauro Icardi, brought on in the 82nd minute, who gave PSG the win, with the goal scored in the third minute of extra time.
"Pochettino risked a lot by leaving Messi and this was also confirmed by the fact that the Argentine player was very frustrated and did not extend his hand. After the match, Pochettino said that he had spoken with Messi in the dressing room and clarified the situation", said Jonathan Johnson, a journalist covering Ligue 1.
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Indeed, Pochettino has said he was forced to replace Messi for physical reasons. He has said that he wants to save and protect the Argentine from injuries. PSG have a busy schedule as they play two games in the French league this week, with Metz on Wednesday and Montpellier on Saturday, before facing Manchester City in the Champions League next week.
"Everyone knows we have a lot of good players in the team. And we have to make decisions to create the lineup for each game. I think for the good of the team, despite the fact that one of the players does not accept them", said Pochettino, revealing that he had not discussed anything with Messi about the change, but had simply asked him if it was okay. "I removed Messi to protect him and not to get hurt, because we have important matches and a very busy schedule."
Messi joined PSG last month as a free agent from Barcelona and in three games played so far in all competitions, he has scored no goals and provided no assists. On Sunday and Monday, Messi's grim looks from the sidelines caused a stir on Sunday and Monday, after the sudden substitution.
