Messi, Mbappe, Neymar on hunt as PSG eye maiden UCL title
- Lionel Messi is likely to make his Champions League debut for PSG against Club Brugge
- Manager Mauricio Pochettino hinted at playing Messi alongside Neymar and Mbappe
- Manchester City face Leipzig in their opener
Is this Paris Saint Germain’s best shot at a Champions League title? Well, having the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in the side and not winning would definitely not be a good feeling. The three will be set to make their debut as a trio in the biggest European competition as PSG face Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Thursday.
The superstars could start together for the first time since Messi’s arrival from Barcelona last month. Messi warmed up with a hat trick for Argentina in World Cup qualifying last week, taking him past Pelé and onto 79 goals.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino did hint on Tuesday that Messi would line up alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Also read: Lionel Messi wanted to leave Barcelona in 2020, his burofax to Bartomeu reveals
“Messi, Neymar and Mbappe, together? I join this collective excitement, I’m like everyone else, I would be crazy not to want to see them play together,” Pochettino told a press conference ahead of the game.
“Will we see them together tomorrow? Maybe, yes…”
However, Pochettino has a big decision to make between new signing Gianluigi Donnarumma or Keylor Navas. Donnarumma helped Italy win the European Championship with his heroics against England in the final, but Navas was among the best goalies in Europe last season and has often saved PSG.
Also read: Champions League begins with upset, Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku make mark
PSG’s next Champions League opponent in two weeks will be Manchester City, which opens against Leipzig. Having been the dominant English force of the past decade, with five Premier League titles, success in Europe for City is long overdue. This season will be the club’s 11th in succession in the Champions League but last season aside when Pep Guardiola’s team lost the final to Chelsea, it has only reached the semifinals on one other occasion. Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden could be involved for City after both returned from injury to be unused substitutes in Saturday’s win at Leicester.
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