SCARY PSG ARE UNDER PRESSURE
SAYS THIERRY HENRY
THIERRY HENRY insists PSG are scary.
But the French star has also confessed the billionaire club are under huge pressure to deliver at Parkhead.
Henry has been left aghast at the transfer dealings of PSG, with the signings of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe shaking the footballing world.
And the ex-international striker said: “What happened in Paris was staggering. Wow. That’s a transfer window. Neymar signed for £198million and Kylian Mbappe joined on loan with a fee of £162m to be paid down the line.
“If you’d told me that would happen at the start of the summer, I’d have said: Are you mad? It’s crazy. But PSG have one thing in their sights, the Champions League.
“They start their campaign on Tuesday against Celtic, who could be forgiven for being nervous when they look at the team sheets.
“On paper Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani is a scary forward line. Mbappe, at 18, is young but we have seen his quality.
“The other two are proven class but it will be interesting to see how they work together, especially off the ball.
“It’s what you do when your team lose it that’s more important and how quickly to press and win it back.
“When I was at Barcelona that was key for us and one of the most impressive things about our team.
“It makes sense because if you win it back in or around your opponents’ box it saves you having to run back 50 yards.
“You can stay in the opponents’ half, suffocate them. You save energy, stay on the front foot and demoralise opponents.
“If a team gets through the PSG line because they don’t press, it’s a different ball game.
“You can have all the talent in the world but if you don’t work hard it’s useless. Any team that has won the Champions League has that work ethic.
“It makes sense when you have a front three like PSG’s. Play to your strengths.
“Will Mbappe buy into this? He has been used to a 4-4-2 at Monaco not a 4-3-3 as PSG will play. Well, 4-4-2 is a different story. You naturally have more cover.
“He’ll have to learn and adapt quickly as Unai Emery likes his teams to work incredibly hard.
“I thought Mbappe would go to Real Madrid or Barca if he moved this summer, but when you see the money being offered I was less surprised.
“But wherever he is, he has to perform. Now. You used to have three or four years to reach the top after you showed talent. Now the expectation is instant.
“There will be a lot of pressure because PSG have joined the group of teams who are judged on whether they win the Champions League. That’s what you must expect at a big side.”