“MSN is back”, “4-0 masterpiece incoming” – PSG fans thrilled as Christophe Galtier names ‘good XI’ including Lionel Messi after Mbappe misses out due to injury

Lionel Messi will lead the line for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as manager Christophe Gatlier has named an impressive starting XI to face Clermont Foot in their first league game.

The fans are excited about the lineup and have taken to Twitter to share their opinions about it.

New manager Gatlier has decided to go with a 3-4-3 formation, with Neymar and Pablo Sarabia alongside Lionel Messi in the attack. The Argentine forward will likely play in a false nine role, as the team's main striker Kylian Mbappe is out injured.

Behind them in midfield, Marco Verratti and Vitinha will hold the play in midfield, while Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi will handle the left and right flanks respectively. In defense, Presnel Kimpembe, Marquinhos, and Sergio Ramos will hold down the fort in front of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The strong starting lineup had the Paris fans excited about the game, and they took to Twitter to express their delight at the manager's choices. Here is a selection of the tweets from the Parc des Princes faithful:

PSG fans will be expecting all three points from Lionel Messi and teammates

PSG are expected to start the season on a high, with Gatlier taking on his first game in charge at the Parc des Princes. They will have to play without an injured Mbappe, but it is not expected to matter too much, with Lionel Messi and Neymar in attack.

Although they are playing away from home, Clermont Foot are not expected to provide any major threats to the Ligue 1 winners. However, as underdogs, their dream would be to achieve the unexpected and send the Ligue champions without a single point.

Last season saw the PSG faithful boo their players from the stands after a series of bad performances. Now, with Mauricio Pochettino out of the club, they will be expecting an improvement from Lionel Messi and other players, alongside three points to boot.

About the author

Nnanna is a European and international football journalist who has been covering news and transfer rumors at Sportskeeda for around 5 years. A keen interest in reading and football since an early age, watching games at local stadiums with family paved the way for him to take up the sport professionally.

Nnanna’s favorite club is English team Bolton Wanderers because he witnessed Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha's play for them between 2002 and 2006. His favorite footballer is Ronaldinho due to the Brazilian's love for the sport and admires Pep Guardiola for redefining football tactics. As a former literature student, Nnanna reckons that the best way of connecting with the readers is to add a bit of empathy in his writing, and relies on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and WhoScored for his articles.

Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup trophy in 2022 is Nnanna’s favorite FIFA World Cup moment, and also follows Major League Soccer due to the diminutive Argentine. He strongly believes that Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could be the next two superstars in the same light as legendary pair Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

When not writing, he likes to play Football Manager and other simulation games.

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