Christophe Galtier on Lionel Messi: I ask the team to work for him.
Reacting to his team’s win over Toulouse this afternoon, Christophe Galtier notably praised Lionel Messi’s matchwinning performance, with the Argentine forward’s second-half strike proving the winner in a game where the visitors posed several issues to the league leaders in the second half.
Messi was the only member of PSG’s star front line to feature today, with Neymar undergoing treatment on an ankle injury and expected back next week, while Kylian Mbappé is out of action for the next three weeks.
His words transcribed in L’Équipe, Galtier also praised Achraf Hakimi’s decisive performance – a goal and an assist – as well as his team’s ability to break down the visitors’ low block. For the manager, Messi’s quality is such that his teammates should step up their efforts in order to allow the former Barcelona man the time and space to let his quality shine through, notably in his passing range:
“I ask the team to play for Leo and to work for him. We have to free him of certain tasks. His teammates have to increase their efforts in getting the ball back and create movement so he can play those passes, which are so rare in today’s football, in such tight spaces.”
