Luis Enrique insisted that his team could become better without the France captain, and he's being proven right so far this season
Vitinha still can't quite get his head around the fact that he got to play in the same side as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. "It was like a dream," the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder told earlier this month. "It just didn't feel real for a long time… I will remember it for the rest of my career because I played with the best. It's something I will tell my children, and my grandchildren, one day."
As Vitinha also admitted, though, it wasn't always easy for him. He couldn't sit back and enjoy watching three of the greatest talents the game has ever seen work their magic. Messi, Neymar and Mbappe have never been particularly interested in tracking back, so others had to pick up the slack.
Vitinha had plenty of "chores", as he put it, and his hard work didn't always get the credit it deserved. In the very same infamous game against Montpellier that Mbappe and Neymar squabbled over a spot-kick, the French forward also turned his back on the play at one point, simply because he hadn't received the ball from Vitinha.
It was a pathetic display of petulance, but also a perfect illustration of the consequences of over-indulging superstars – the main reason why Paris Saint-Germain's project repeatedly failed to deliver the Champions League title that club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi promised more than a decade ago.
AFP'Prefer this kind of project'
Things are different now, though. Messi, Neymar and Mbappe have all departed Parc des Princes, and while the latter's exit was particularly traumatic, the feeling within the dressing room is that PSG are actually stronger – or at least more united – than ever before going into Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first-leg clash with Liverpool.
"I really do prefer this kind of project," Vitinha said of PSG's recent but very noticeable shift towards investing in youth rather than proven performers. "The way that they want to build the team, the long-term vision, it's the best way."
It's certainly working out well so far this season for PSG, who are in sensational form ahead of the visit of Liverpool. They've won their last five games in Ligue 1 to open up a 13-point lead at the top of the table (scoring 17 times in the process), beat Brest 10-0 on aggregate in their all-French Champions League play-off and, last week, routed Stade Briochin 7-0 in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France.
AdvertisementAFPBetter without Mbappe
Given the recent goal glut, many supporters and pundits are now wondering if PSG are actually better without Mbappe, whom they relied on so heavily in attack last season, and it's a question that Vitinha doesn't shy away from answering.
"We don't have a problem talking about it," the Portugal international said. "Kylian is one of the best in the world, if not the best. We knew it would be difficult [without him] because you can’t replace him directly. But you replace him with the team. That’s what we did. That takes time, but I think we’re collectively better and we have shown it already. Sometimes the goals don't come as easily as before [with Mbappe], but we have a lot of great forwards." There's no disputing that claim.
AFPBarcola and Dembele step up
When Mbappe finally dumped PSG after years of flirting with a move to Real Madrid, the understandable fear was that the French giants would struggle to score goals, particularly after their one orthodox No.9 Goncalo Ramos was sidelined by an ankle injury just 20 minutes into their Ligue 1 opener at Le Havre on August 16.
Randal Kolo Muani initially looked like he might help fill the void up front, but his form flatlined and he was offloaded to Juventus during the winter transfer window. By that stage, though, PSG were happy to let him leave, as their attack had caught fire.
Ramos' return to action at the tail end of November was an undoubted boost, but the real revelations were Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele. Barcola had already proven himself one of the most exciting young talents in world football during his first season in the French capital; the one question was whether he could add goals to his game. This season, he has, with 22-year-old already up to 17 goals in 39 appearances so far this season.
Rather remarkably, Dembele, the worst signing in Barcelona's history for so many reasons and arguably the game's greatest unfulfilled talent, has proven even more prolific than Barcola. The incredibly frustrating winger has netted 26 times in just 33 outings, which is an outstanding tally for a player whose previous career-high, single-season haul was 14 goals in 2018-19. Worryingly for Liverpool, 21 of Dembele's goals this season have come in his last 16 appearances – making him one of the form players on the planet right now.
Getty Images SportLuis Enrique told you so!
As Vitinha alluded to, though, PSG are no longer reliant upon the excellence of individuals. Their strength has become the collective, which was Luis Enrique's objective all along.
"I was very brave last season when I told you that we would have a better team in attack and defence [without Mbappe] and the numbers are now there to prove it," the coach told reporters earlier this month. "Of course, we would have liked to keep Kylian, because everyone liked Kyky and we were faced with a situation that we did not want. But it happened and the players took replacing him as a challenge and the whole team is responding very positively, at a spectacular level. I told you that rather than having a player who scores 40 goals, I wanted players who all score a lot." And that's exactly what he's got now.
