How do you replace Mbappé?

The simple answer is that you cannot replace the goals of Mbappé, or the electrifying bursts of pace. His absence in the Coupe de France tie against Olympique de Marseille on Wednesday was what emboldened the opposition to play such an intense pressing game with an extremely high line, safe in the knowledge that they were less likely to be torn apart on the break without the France striker sprinting in behind them. Mbappé, who is not expected back from a thigh injury until later this month, is PSG’s top scorer with 25 goals and without him Galtier needs Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. to step up.

The problem is that while Messi  has been in impressive form recently, he suffered a hamstring injury in Marseille that led to him being ruled out of the weekend Ligue 1 Uber Eats trip to AS Monaco and has raised doubts as to how fit he will be for the first leg against the German champions. Neymar’s own form and fitness have been the source of some concern since he came back from the World Cup. The Brazilian has been hit by injury ahead of big Champions League games all too often in his PSG career and they really need him on top of his game now. After all, there are simply not many other options open to Galtier.

Pablo Sarabia’s departure to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the January window was not compensated for, and so Hugo Ekitiké  is the only credible attacking alternative available. Yet at the age of just 20 he remains very raw and he has just four goals in 21 appearances this season, and none in the Champions League. However, Galtier has ruled out any chance of taking a big risk with Mbappé’s fitness amid reports he could be fast-tracked back. “The wellbeing of the player comes before anything else and there is still a long way to go in the season,” he said on Friday.

Lack of physicality in midfield

This was exposed by Marseille in the Coupe de France but that was not the first time that PSG’s shortcomings in midfield were laid bare. Spanish international duo Fabián Ruiz and Carlos Soler  have struggled to settle in Ligue 1 since arriving at the start of the season, late in the summer transfer window. Vitinha started the season in outstanding fashion but his form has since faded. Renato Sanches has had myriad fitness problems and is currently out for several weeks with a hamstring injury.

Galtier needs Marco Verratti  fit and on top of his game in order to stand a chance of winning the midfield battle up against the likes of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka. The problem is that PSG’s midfield has arguably never been the same since the departure of Blaise Matuidi in 2017 was followed by that of Thiago Motta a year later. How the Parisians could do with that mix of Matuidi’s endless running and Motta’s experience and slyness now.

“What was clear in the match against Marseille was that we lost the midfield battle. We can’t afford to come out second best in so many challenges in such a game. It is great to want to play nice football but at times it is absolutely vital that you win the midfield battle and we lost it,” admitted Galtier.

“We are coming up to a run of games where we are facing teams who play with lots of intensity and impose these battles on you. We need to rise to the challenge. We have the technical quality. But the players need to make the effort mentally and win an awful lot more of these battles in the middle of the park.”

Over-reliance on Ramos?

PSG’s failure to bring in an extra central defender in either of the last two transfer windows is another issue. Galtier has had to abandon the three-man central defence with which he started the season because he simply doesn’t have enough centre-backs given that Presnel Kimpembe has spent much of the campaign on the sidelines. With Nordi Mukiele injured and Danilo Pereira now needed more than ever in midfield, Marquinhos  and  Sergio Ramos  are the coach’s only two available senior central defenders.

If Marquinhos remains as important as ever, there have to be concerns about an over-reliance on Ramos, a brilliant player but who will turn 37 next month. He played just 13 games last season because of fitness issues but has played every game this season when not injured (rarely) or suspended. He is undoubtedly more vulnerable than during the peak years of his career, witness his foul on Cengiz Ünder which gave Marseille their penalty in the Cup tie. Ramos allowed his opponent to get goal-side of him and the Spaniard was always in trouble after that. That does not necessarily bode well for the challenge presented by Bayern’s mobile and quick attackers such as Leroy Sané, Kingsley Coman and Jamal Musiala.

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