More to come from PSG in 2022, promises Pochettino

PSG
head
into
their
final
Ligue
1
game
of
the
year,
against
Lorient,
13
points
clear
at
the
top
of
the
table.

It
has
been
a
mixed
bag
for
Pochettino
since
he
took
over
in
January,
replacing
Thomas
Tuchel.

He
took
PSG
to
the
Champions
League
semi-finals,
where
they
were
eliminated
by
Manchester
City,
who
would
go
on
to
lose
to
Tuchel’s
Chelsea
in
the
final.

Pochettino
celebrated
his
first
trophy
as
a
coach,
winning
the
delayed
2020
Trophee
des
Champions,
and
won
the
Coupe
de
France
last
season,
but
PSG
finished
second
in
Ligue
1
behind
Lille.

They
are
firmly
on
course
to
regain
that
crown
this
season,
with
superstar
Lionel
Messi
having
arrived
to
form
a
formidable
attacking
trident
with
Neymar
and
Kylian
Mbappe.
Sergio
Ramos,
Gianluigi
Donnarumma,
Georginio
Wijnaldum,
Achraf
Hakimi
and
Nuno
Mendes
also
signed
in
a
sensational
transfer
window.

However,
doubts
linger
over
Mbappe’s
future,
with
PSG
rejecting
Real
Madrid’s
advances,
but
the
23-year-old
is
out
of
contract
at
the
end
of
the
season.
Pochettino’s
future
is
also
up
in
the
air,
with
links
to
Manchester
United
not
going
away.

Asked
for
his
thoughts
on
his
first
year
in
the
job,
Pochettino
told
a
news
conference:
“You
could
compare
the
first
six
months
and
the
last
six
months.

“I
think
it
has
been
positive,
because
in
the
first
few
months
you
have
to
settle
in,
although
I
already
knew
the
club,
it
was
still
new
and
the
start
of
a
project.

“Joining
a
club
that
I
wanted
to
be
at,
where
I
played,
with
incredible
supporters,
I
think
that
is
my
best
memory.
We
have
also
achieved
some
of
the
success
we
wanted
but
I
feel
the
best
is
to
come
next
year.

“There
aren’t
many
bad
memories.
The
most
important
thing
is
health,
a
key
topic
at
the
moment
during
this
pandemic,
so
bad
things
in
sport
don’t
affect
us
in
the
day-to-day.

“The
bad
things
are
this
pandemic
made
us
live
in
a
different
way
and
has
caused
so
much
harm
to
loved
ones,
in
many
cases.”

PSG
have
played
62
games
in
all
competitions
under
Pochettino
in
2021,
with
only
two
sides
in
Europe’s
top
five
leagues
–
Chelsea
(62)
and
Man
City
(65)
–
playing
more.

Only
City
(51)
and
Bayern
Munich
(42)
have
managed
more
wins
than
PSG’s
tally
of
41,
with
Pochettino’s
side
also
ranking
third
for
goals
scored
(128),
while
they
have
lost
10
times
in
total.

Mbappe
has
played
the
most
games
under
Pochettino,
tallying
53
appearances,
five
more
than
second-ranked
Danilo
Pereira.

The
forward’s
43
goals,
at
an
average
of
one
strike
every
104
minutes,
is
way
out
in
front
of
any
other
player,
with
Mauro
Icardi
next
on
15.

Mbappe
also
leads
the
way
for
assists
(16),
but
while
Messi
has
gradually
worked
his
way
into
consistency
since
signing
from
Barcelona,
it
has
been
a
poor
year
for
Neymar
by
his
own
standards.

The
Brazil
star
came
16th
in
the
Ballon
d’Or
voting
and
has
played
just
33
times,
directly
contributing
to
19
goals
(11
scored
–
six
were
penalties
–
and
eight
assists).

Neymar,
who
is
injured,
and
the
rest
of
PSG’s
South
American
contingent
will
be
given
freedom
to
return
home
over
Christmas,
with
Pochettino
happy
to
give
his
squad
a
break.

“It
has
been
a
year
of
a
pandemic
and
there
have
been
very
high
levels
of
competition,”
he
said.

“Due
to
the
competitiveness
and
the
fact
we
are
pleased
with
how
we
are
doing,
we
are
going
to
be
back
on
January
1
to
work
hard.

“As
for
the
South
American
players
who
are
going
to
spend
time
with
their
families,
they
should
be
back
on
the
31st,
so
they
have
seven
or
eight
days
to
recover
with
a
specific
plan.
They
will
be
ready
to
play
at
Vannes
on
January
3.”