"It's a mistake"- PSG manager responds to claims for him to drop Messi, Mbappe or Neymar to find more balance

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager Christophe Galtier has responded to the idea of dropping one of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe to find more balance.

Following the French champions' 1-1 draw against Reims on Sunday, January 29, many have voiced against the lack of defensive output from the trio.

French journalist Daniel Riolo launched an attack on PSG's esteemed attacking triumvirate for their defensive work rate. He told RMC Sport:

"No coach in the world can play the front 3 together (Messi, Neymar and Mbappe), it's impossible!"

PSG boss Galtier has responded to such claims in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side's visit to Montpellier on February 1.

The French manager has absolutely dismissed the idea of benching one of Mbappe, Messi and Neymar to find more balance on the pitch.

Galtier has claimed that other players will have to find a way to fill in for the trio's lack of defensive output. He told RMC Sport:

"We have three incredibly strong attacking players, I think it's 55 goals, 34 assists since the start of the season. Are you saying that we have to miss one of the three players to be balanced?"

He added:

"It's a mistake. We simply have to find a better balance, more legs, freshness to get the team back to what it was."

Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe have all enjoyed an excellent run of form during the ongoing 2022-23 season for PSG.

While the Argentine has scored 13 goals and laid out 14 assists in 22 games, the Brazilian has registered 17 goals and 15 assists in 25 matches.

The France international, on the other hand, has netted a whopping 25 goals in 25 appearances across all competitions.

PSG have suffered a dip in form in recent weeks and have won just two of their last five games.

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Reims ace Yunis Abdelhamid aimed a dig at PSG superstar trio Messi, Neymar and Mbappe

Reims defender Yunis Abdelhamid aimed a dig at PSG trio Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for their poor defensive work rate.

Following PSG's 1-1 draw against Reims on Sunday, the Morocco international said:

"It was easy to work the ball out of the defence because the front three don't defend. We knew on our side that if we passed this first line, they no longer participate in the collective defensive effort. We worked on that. We wanted to exploit it and that's what we managed to do. That's why we created so many chances."

The Parisians are at the top of the Ligue 1 table but have just a narrow three-point cushion over second-placed Lens.