“Playing against him doesn’t mean letting him dribble all over you” – Nantes forward eager to do “better than” Lionel Messi and PSG
Going up against Lionel Messi and PSG's fearsome frontline this weekend, Moses Simon believes Nantes can take the fight to the Parisians and come out strong. With PSG featuring top talent like Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, Simon is well aware of the fact that his Canaries team are the obvious underdogs.
This didn’t deter the Nigerian, who told ESPN that his team is excited about the challenge:
"I have been looking forward, a hundred percent, and waiting for the day that we play PSG."
Simon currently occupies third spot on the Ligue 1 assists leaderboard and has been a stand-out performer for the Canaries so far this season. The ace has also won back-to-back Player of the Month awards in August and September.
A brace of assists for Nantes' Moses Simon under 30 minutes vs. Angers.
He's now provided FIVE assists in Ligue 1 this season — only Paul Pogba (7) has more in all of Europe's top-six leagues. https://t.co/oW7N4FLueh
The 26-year-old is especially excited about a potential matchup with PSG's star man Lionel Messi and is hoping the experience can bring out his best performance yet:
"For me, his presence will affect my own game positively because he is one the best players in the world."
"It will give young players like me and others a boost to play against Lionel Messi. Of course playing against him doesn't mean letting him dribble all over you," the Nantes forward added.
"But it is a privilege to play against such a player because it makes you take your own game up a different level to try to match him and even try to do better than him," he said.
Moses believes the game should go the way of his less-fancied side, pointing out:
"It is also good for us that we are playing them after the international break and they have a lot of international players."
Lionel Messi struggling at PSG due to structural differences: Thierry Henry
Former Barcelona legend Thierry Henry has pointed out key differences between PSG and Barcelona which may be affecting Lionel Messi's form for his new club.
Is Lionel Messi struggling at PSG? 🧐
Why? 🧐
#Messi #PSG https://t.co/Dm6fJN13Ve
Lionel Messi moved to PSG during the summer but has since struggled to find the net like he did for Blaugrana. Former Barcelona superstar Thierry Henry thinks the Argentine's lack of Ligue 1 goals is due to structural differences.
"Without wanting to make excuses for Mauricio Pochettino, when so many players arrive late [for the start of the season], you don't have time to work with them when you're playing every three days," said Henry.
"They are going off on international duty whenever you might have the time, it's not easy to find a style of play," he explained.
"At Barcelona, you have to follow something because there's a history. Rinus Michels was there, then Cruyff came along... Pochettino is looking for a system and 11 players to play in it," concluded the French legend.