LOSC Lille’s efforts to defend the French League title seem to be very heavy in this 2021-2022 season. Lille captain Jose Fonte acknowledged that because their main competitor, Paris Saint-German (PSG) was very different from last season.
In the 2021-2022 season, PSG will come with new powers that have just been brought in in the 2021 summer transfer market. Star status players such as Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, and Georginio Wijnaldum will be present to strengthen PSG in the new season.
Interestingly, PSG has just inaugurated the arrival of superstar Lionel Messi who has parted with Barcelona. The presence of these players, especially Messi, then called Fonte, will make it difficult for Lille to win the 2021-2022 French League.
Against PSG without them it would be very difficult because there are already names like Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria, and Neymar Jr. Especially when the presence of Messi and four other new players.
For Fonte, the new PSG players have extraordinary individual qualities, perhaps even better than all Lille players. So, if against PSG individually, Fonte is very sure Lille will lose badly.
However, it’s a different story if Lille can play as a team. He believes that if Lille can play together as a team as they did in the 2020-2021 season, then PSG, which is now reinforced by Messi, can be defeated.
“It has to be a teamwork effort (to be able to beat PSG). If you play man for man or individual football, they (PSG) will obviously beat you nine out of ten. They are faster and in terms of their skills, they are second to none,” said Fonte, launching from Talksports, Wednesday (11/8/2021).
“We have to defend as a team, don’t give space at the back so our team has to play a little further back, the midfield has to help, the wings have to be tight so they can’t give space between the front lines,” he added.
That’s roughly how the Lille team will try to face PSG. Fonte believes Lille’s chance to win over PSG is still wide open even though the club nicknamed Les Parisiens has now transformed into an almost perfect team.
“If you can do it as a collective effort, you can stop them (PSG). We’ve done it a few times but this time it looks like it’s going to be very difficult.”
