Paris Saint-Germain cannot thank just one player, but directly to three. Without the trident of Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe, PSG will not be able to do much against Maccabi Haifa.
Maccabi Haifa, who played at the Sammy Ofer Stadium, Israel, managed to take the lead in the 24th minute through Tjaronn Chery. The goal was quite surprising because PSG, who appeared at full strength, actually fell behind first.
Only then did PSG respond through Messi's goal in the 37th minute. Mbappe (69') and Neymar (88') contributed the other two goals.
PSG manager Christophe Galtier admits that without the quality of his three front players, PSG might lose. But the qualities of all three have shown how influential these players can be.
The first goal becomes more compact
Galtier explained that the first goal from the hosts managed to whip up his players to appear more compact. The cohesiveness was much more pronounced in the second half.
"After the break, we can play together. When we play more compact, everything becomes easier to do," he said on the club's official website.
"We then created some situations. Luckily the quality of our trident was decisive here. Therefore, we won."
Bad When Defending
PSG admitted that they did not defend well in the first half. Maccabi, who appeared proactive by trying to grab the ball as quickly as possible in the PSG defense area, successfully troubled the Les Parisiens defense.
"We were very bad in defence. The pressure created by the opponent made us not play well. The team seemed to be split in two. They really wanted to press us quickly," said Galtier.
"Then there's huge space behind our front three. Our midfielders are outnumbered in midfield too."
Perfect
This victory made PSG achieve perfect results from two Group H matches. Before overthrowing Maccabi, PSG also managed to reap three points from Juventus with a score of 2-1.
Now PSG is at the top of the standings with a collection of six points. They are ahead on goal difference from Benfica.
The next two games will be counted as a proof of PSG's strength. Because, these two matches have to face Benfica who are also trying to secure the top two positions.