There are only three of four AC Milan players who are good enough to play for Paris Saint-Germain and not all of them would be starters, according to L’Equipe journalist Timothée Maymon.
The build-up to tomorrow night’s Champions League clash at the Parc des Princes continues to ramp up as Milan go in search of their first win in Europe of 2023-24 while PSG aim to put the 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United behind them.
As often happens before such big games, there has been debates surrounding who has the better team between the Parisians and the Rossoneri and how a combined XI might look.
MilanNews interviewed Timothée Maymon from L’Equipe about a number of different topics from Gianluigi Donnarumma’s struggles to Kylian Mbappe’s form, and also touching on a comparison between the squads.
Is stopping the monster Mbappé the key to stopping PSG?
“I believe that Mbappé is a big part of the equation for all the teams that face Paris Saint-Germain. Evidently he is the player to keep an eye on, the main offensive weapon.
“But this Luis Enrique-led PSG is different than in the past, there is much more. Now the Parisians are a collective while before everything revolved around the soloists Messi, Neymar and Mbappé.
“Instead with the Spanish coach we now see a dominance of the game, the team keeps the ball a lot and knows what to do to deprive the opponent of possession. Mbappè isn’t everything, Milan will have to find remedies.”
Is it a decisive match for going through to the knockout rounds?
“No, because we are only in the third match of the group. But the slap suffered by PSG in Newcastle changes things quite a bit. This group is more open than we could have hoped for and PSG cannot afford two missteps in a row in the Champions League, especially playing at home.
“PSG-Milan may not be decisive for qualification but it is a match that will say a lot about the French team’s start to the season.”
Is the real PSG the team that took Borussia Dortmund apart or the one that conceded four against Newcastle?
“I think it’s a mixture of the two. Luis Enrique’s style of play is based on ball possession made up of many passes which sometimes leads to side effects such as sterile ball possession if things don’t turn out.
“But this isn’t serious, it’s part of of its way of playing. In the league, PSG alternates excellent performances with so-so matches so I can’t give an answer to your question.
“But I still believe that at home, in the Champions League and in the group stage, PSG has always been an effective team And without a doubt he will be a dangerous opponent for Milan.”
Messi, Mbappé and Sergio Ramos left but Kolo Muani, Dembelé and Skriniar joined – have PSG strengthened or weakened compared to last season?
“It is a topic that we have addressed a lot on television and on the radio here in France. First of all, it is a team that is technically less strong, with fewer strokes of genius and which is also less unpredictable than in the past.
“But on the other hand it has a strength collective, something that has always been missing in Paris. You talked about Kolo Muani and Dembelé but there is an indispensable player in this team: his name is Ugarte.
“The Uruguayan is a very tough number 6 in duels, rough, strong and with a great work ethic. A player with these characteristics has been missing since the days of Thiago Motta. For many fans and observers, the team needed such a bad player in the middle and with lungs like that.
“And with the arrival of Ugarte has the face of PSG has changed. The former Sporting player recovers a lot of balls and by doing so frees up the players around him. Then why when he’s on form, PSG often are too.
“Then it’s impossible to say that a team is stronger after losing Messi and Neymar, two exceptional footballers. But as a collective this PSG are more impressive than 12 months ago, without a doubt.”
How many Rossoneri players would be starters in this PSG team?
“Good question… but Maignan is stronger than Donnarumma. Gigio remains an excellent goalkeeper but here in France he is not very loved and appreciated. But all in all, Mike is something else.
“The former Lille player is a goalkeeper of a top, top, top level! If PSG could take only one player from Milan it would be Mike Maignan. I also really like Reijnders but he has an unpronounceable name (laughs).
“At Milan there are 3-4 players who could play for PSG even if not all of them would be starters. That said, the Rossoneri have built an intelligent and competitive squad and I’m not surprised that things are working.”
This isn’t FIFA 23… PSG in the real world are frauds… never living up to the hype. Next question please
Talk your talk and wait for tomorrow
Starters without a single doubt
Mike
Theo
Tomori
Leao
then you can have case about Reijnders or even RLC. Not sure about Pulisic
Oh I forgot, lord Krunic is a starter at PSG too! trolololo
I will take Pulisic over Dembélé, so 5.
It’s true….Theo, Mike….maybe Timori
Leao ain’t starting over Dembele and MBappe
True. Theo, Tomori and Mike will start for sure. Currently, I will take Pulisic over Dembélé, apart from them no one will start for PSG.
Yea not mad atthat at all. I was thinking Demeble is 50-50 too. But he can also pull a rabbit out the hat too
It’s well known that French are very arrogant. We have here a strong example.
Krunić, Theo, Mike and maybe Tomori
Who cares PSG always hve the best teams on paper, MSN was supposed to be the greatest trident ever. Too bad paper doesn’t win you trophies
Yes we saw the Newcastle players that can’t make up your bench trashed them. Milan all the way.