Galtier Reveals Key Tactical Adjustments Involving Messi, Vitinha in PSG’s Win vs. Toulouse | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain defeated Toulouse FC 2-1 on Saturday at the Parc des Princes. However, the final result doesn’t show the struggle the capital club had to endure to eventually find the back of the net.

Achraf Hakimi leveled the scoring before halftime and Lionel Messi scored the eventual game-winning goal in the second half for the victory. Nonetheless, PSG manager Christophe Galtier noted the first-half adjustments he needed to make involving Messi.

In Galtier’s postgame interview with Prime Video (h/t Canal Supporters), the French tactician discussed PSG’s 4-4-2 diamond game system and, in particular, the positioning of Vitinha as he kept drifting into Messi’s zone.

“In the first half, Vitinha got a little too much into Leo’s zone,” Galtier said postgame. “I insisted at the break that Viti come a little more on our left side to free up Leo’s preferential zone.

“This balanced our attacks a little better and created some gaps in the Toulouse defense. I had also insisted on being able to shoot from outside the box against a very low and grouped block. We managed to score even though we suffered from set pieces. We managed to win with difficult scenarios in these last two matches and significant absences.”

The halftime adjustments appeared to have worked, allowing the reigning Ligue 1 champions to score a second goal courtesy of Messi. Additionally, PSG had other scoring chances that they could’ve converted to have more breathing room.

Nonetheless, perhaps these last two games without Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr. might allow Galtier to see what works and what doesn’t as he attempts to hold down the fort until his two star players return to the starting 11.