Messi’s first start for his new club, and his first appearance alongside both Neymar and Mbappe, provided tantalising glimpses of what might be possible with such a strikeforce. PSG took the lead through Ander Herrera, after Mbappe had produced a weaving run of eye-watering quality. Messi struck the bar with a curling effort after Neymar had artfully bent the ball into his path. When they combined, PSG flowed.
But they did not combine all that often, and PSG spent much of this game – against supposedly the weakest opponent of their Champions League group – under considerable pressure. The world’s best attack on paper, it seems, is not immediately going to become the world’s best attack in reality.
This is not to say the forwards were poor. No one jumps from motionless to monstrous like Messi, who explodes into life as if a switch has been flicked inside his body. PSG did struggle for fluency, though, and the forwards inevitably lacked defensive appetite. The sight of Messi and Neymar trundling back towards their own half, as Brugge attacked downfield, will have sent shivers down Pochettino’s spine.
Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward Kylian Mbappe gestures next to Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar (L) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (C) during the UEFA Champions League Group A football match Club Brugge against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, on September 15, 2021.
There is clearly plenty of work for Pochettino to do in Paris, for his side were outclassed for much of the night. Hans Vanaken scored a fine equaliser for Brugge, who gave encouragement to the rest of the competition with how they turned this into a slog for their more glamorous visitors.
Such a fierce battle will not have been how Messi envisaged his full debut. His transfer to PSG, completed after his tears had dried following his enforced exit to Barcelona, has been largely viewed through the prism of the French side’s assault on the Champions League. The title they have never won is the one they crave above all else, seemingly at any cost, and Messi is evidently regarded as the man who can bring it to them.
This is a two-way relationship, though, and as Messi trotted out in a team featuring Neymar, Mbappe, Marquinhos and Achraf Hakimi on Wednesday night, it was worth considering the flipside: what PSG can do for him. Messi’s own relationship with the Champions League has grown increasingly fractured, following a series of crushing defeats with Barcelona, and he has not lifted the trophy since 2015.
It had become painfully clear last season that Messi was no longer playing for a genuine contender. Barcelona had a chance, of course, because which team with Messi does not have a chance? But the squad strength and depth was simply not there at the Nou Camp, and is certainly not there at the moment.
By contrast, the move to Paris provides Messi with the most illustrious selection of team-mates he could have wished for. “Les Galactiques” are the strongest squad in Europe, with each part of Pochettino’s team glistening like an oiled-up bodybuilder on display.
The challenge for them is to keep everything in proportion, to create a platform sturdy enough to hold their golden trio in attack. As it stands (and they were without new signing Sergio Ramos against Brugge) they are not even close. The front three showed flashes and moments, but they were not signed for moments. They were signed to win trophies, and this one in particular. They have a long way to go.