Another explanation is put forward to shed light on the controversy over the exit of Lionel Messi on Sunday evening during PSG-OL. The Argentine striker was hit in the thigh, which would have prompted Mauricio Pochettino to replace him.
There was the very contentious penalty awarded to Neymar, then the goal at the end of the suspense of Mauro Icardi, cruel to the Lyonnais. But the action that went around the planet took place between these two moments: the release of Lionel Messi, at the 76th minute.
The Argentine striker, who is hardly ever replaced, or at least not when everything remains to be done in a match of this importance, did not hide his incomprehension. He didn’t shake his trainer’s hand, Mauricio Pochettino, and looked at him, spreading his arms. And his pout, on the sidelines, said a lot about his state of mind.
Sad messi makes me sad pic.twitter.com/yZeUJmObST
– Flea 🏄🏻‍♂️ (@LaPvlga) September 19, 2021
Messi hit in the knee or in the thigh?
Nobody really understood the choice of Pochettino, at the time, and certainly not Leandro Paredes, judging by his dumbfounded reaction when Messi came to sit next to him. How to explain this choice of Pochettino? Did the Argentinian technician want to bring fresh blood in his attack, it was necessary to release one of the fantastic four (with Di Maria, Neymar and Mbappé), and it fell on Messi? Why not, but why not take out Mbappé, who was injured after the Brugge game, while Messi seemed to be on his feet, while being known to know how to manage his physical condition with his propensity to walk on the pitch when he was not. the ball.
Abdellah Boulma provides another explanation: « Lionel Messi tohad a thigh problem but wanted to stay on the pitch, explains this Monday morning the journalist, well informed about the PSG. Pochettino did not want to take any risk, hence the general lack of understanding. “A video indeed shows Messi testing his left knee, on the ground, during the second half …
Lionel #Messi had a thigh problem but wanted to stay on the pitch. Pochettino did not want to take any risk, hence the general lack of understanding.
— Abdellah Boulma (@AbdellahBoulma) September 20, 2021
These images show Messi testing his left knee ahead of his exit. The one touched with Argentina during the international break. Hence perhaps Pochettino’s precaution to replace him #PSGOL pic.twitter.com/tsMzsxHnTr
— Yohan Roblin (@yohanroblin) September 20, 2021
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