How 'Undisciplined' Messi, Neymar & Mbappe can cost PSG the Champions League

Lionel Messi finally scored his first goal for Paris Saint-Germain during the week in their UEFA Champions League clash against Manchester City. The Argentine maestro had made his debut for the French club in August but had failed to find the back of the net in the matches he's played in. At last, Messi found the back of the net in a 2-0 win against the English Champions, finishing off a move he started with Kylian Mbappe. Though, despite the front trio Messi, Neymar and Mbappe now showing signs of linking up, there are questions over the solidity of the Parisians defence with Lionel Messi in it.

Can Lionel Messi play in defence for PSG? 

Lionel Messi is arguably the best player to have ever played football and he has tons of goals and assists to show for it. However, a constant drawback on his performance is his inability or unwillingness to help out his team in defense. The 6-time Ballon d'Or winner was famously exempted from ball-winning and defensive duties while he was breaking through under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona. This was the first sign that either Messi is considered too important in the attacking phase to be required to help out in defence or Messi is actually not good defensively. 

While at PSG now, the same comments and complaints have resurfaced over the defensive capabilities of Messi in the team. Whilst he would be predominantly expected to play in attacking positions and score goals/make assists, Messi's inability/unwillingness in the defensive phases might be seen as a weakness. Especially for a team that likes to play fast attacking football, thus required to defend from the front whenever they get dispossessed. In a team that also contains Neymar and Mbappe, none of them known for their defensive abilities, there might be a big of a snag.

Will Messi, Neymar and Mbappe defend for PSG? 

The fearsome forward trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are showing signs of getting in sync. However, there have been concerns about Neymar's defensive duties as well as Mbappe with teammates having to sacrifice to keep the back balanced. With Lionel Messi added to the fray, it is expected that defending duties will not be high on the former Barcelona captain's list. 

Thus, this leaves the PSG Coach, Mauricio Pochettino, with the dilemma of finding the right balance between attack and defence. Pochettino set about to doing this by beefing up the team's defence with the addition of new players like Sergio Ramos, Danilo Pereira, Gini Wijnaldum. Gigi Donnarumma, and Achraf Hakimi. These players are expected to improve the the defensive stats of PSG while allowing their famous of front three to go and score as many goals as possible.