PSG need to find a way to compete, and the club’s leaders need to take responsibility for what is currently a team split into two camps: those who defend and those who watch how the others defend. Without the ball, Messi, Neymar and Mbappé disconnect from the rest to become the front three looking for each other again and again. It is not working; the strategy to compete separately is flawed and unattractive. 

Messi is not one of the Champions League’s highest goalscorers, nor among the players with the most assists, or even one of the players to have been most involved in the build-up to PSG’s goals. But Kylian Mbappé is. Two goals and four assists for the Frenchman, as well as a role in eight of PSG’s goals, or 89% of all goals scored by his team. Mbappé is clinical. The same cannot be said at the moment for Messi, or for Neymar. It is only the group stage but their best player, Mbappé, is set to leave in June. 

What is strange is that Cristiano Ronaldo is beating them all. Six goals compared to two for Mbappé, three for Messi and none for Neymar. Nineteen shots on goal, the same as Lewandowski, twelve of which were on target, compared to twenty-five mustered by the three PSG superstars combined. With just six fewer, Cristiano Ronaldo’s level continues to be as high as ever. The Portuguese star alone is worth more than PSG’s front three.