Former Tottenham Defender Explains How to Defend Lionel Messi | OneFootball

Icon: PSG Talk

PSG Talk

·5 October 2022

Former Tottenham Defender Explains How to Defend Lionel Messi

Article image:Former Tottenham Defender Explains How to Defend Lionel Messi

During the 2021-22 football season, Lionel Messi struggled to adapt his goal-scoring abilities in his first season with Paris Saint-Germain. As a result, many assumed that the 35-year-old’s best days were behind him.

However, in this 2022-23 football campaign, Messi is back to his usual self as the Argentine is scoring goals while settling into the playmaker role on the team.


OneFootball Videos


As Messi is terrorizing the opposing team’s defenses again, former Tottenham Hotspur and current Royal Antwerp defender Toby Alderweireld gave some advice to those hoping to stop the PSG forward.

“Hoping time goes as fast as possible,” Alderweireld said on his WTTAA podcast (h/t Mirror). “We got back into the game, which was positive and negative.

“We started attacking more, but I had to face him even more one-on-one because there was more space. That’s the thing; you don’t know what he’s going to do. That’s the special thing; you can’t train for that.”

Article image:Former Tottenham Defender Explains How to Defend Lionel Messi

Messi has two objectives this season: win the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina and provide PSG with its first UEFA Champions League trophy in club history.

The veteran forward is playing with a chip on his shoulder, proving many who had doubts about his form after leaving FC Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain. Should Messi win those two tournaments, he could be making reservations for another Ballon d’Or.

View publisher imprint