In many ways, Pochettino seemed the obvious candidate to replace Thomas Tuchel when the German was sacked by PSG with the Ligue 1 champions sitting third in the table just before Christmas.
Not only was the 49-year-old available having left Spurs in November 2019, but he was also a popular former player in the French capital, having represented the club between 2001 and 2003.
That popularity only increased when Pochettino almost immediately led PSG to a 2-1 victory over fierce rivals Marseille in the delayed 2020 Trophee des Champions – the French equivalent of the FA Community Shield – the first trophy of his 12-year managerial career.
Meanwhile, in February Pochettino masterminded one of PSG’s most memorable European displays, a stunning 4-1 win at Barcelona that helped set up Wednesday night’s Champions League last-eight showdown with Bayern again, the team that pipped Tuchel’s side to the trophy in August.
And as French football writer Tom Williams explains, the new manager is still to make an impact on the side.
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“His record so far has been a mixture of the very good (the first-leg win over Barcelona, an excellent 4-2 defeat of Lyon before the international break) and the very bad (a 3-2 loss at struggling Lorient and home defeats against Monaco, Nantes, and Lille),” Williams says.
“The Champions League success against Barca – and particularly the manner of the first-leg victory at Camp Nou – earned him a lot of credit, but it doesn’t feel like he’s made his mark on the team yet.
“PSG still looks like a collection of talented individuals, rather than a proper team, and that was precisely their problem under Tuchel.”
As most new managers tend to do, Pochettino has made some tactical tweaks, ditching the 5-3-2 setup that Tuchel had settled on by the end of his tenure for a trademark 4-2-3-1 system, while there have also been some line-up changes.
The Champions League success against Barca – and particularly the manner of the first-leg victory at Camp Nou – earned him a lot of credit, but it doesn’t feel like he’s made his mark on the team yet. PSG still looks like a collection of talented individuals, rather than a proper team, and that was precisely their problem under Tuchel.
The results say, Williams has not always been convincing though.
“During Neymar’s recent absence through injury, Pochettino experimented by moving Marco Verratti into the No 10 role and achieved some success, most notably in the 4-1 win over Barcelona,” he says.
“Skipper Marquinhos has been restored to his preferred center-back role, having often played as a holding midfielder under Tuchel, and Abdou Diallo has come into the team at left-back.
“Pochettino has also helped Kylian Mbappe to rediscover his best form. But despite some bright moments, there’s still a lack of cohesion to the way that PSG plays both with and without the ball, which was noticeable in Saturday’s defeat by Lille.”
Ultimately, however, it will be how Pochettino fares getting the best out of his two world-class forwards that will decide how successful he is back in Paris.
“One of Tuchel’s main failings as PSG coach was that he struggled to draw a maximum implication from Neymar and Mbappe over a sustained period and that’s one of the principal challenges facing Pochettino,” Williams says.
“If he can get those two to run and press and harry opposition defenders in the way that Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Heung-min Son, and Christian Eriksen did during the best years of his Spurs tenure, PSG will be a truly terrifying proposition.
Recent reports in France claimed Neymar has reached a pre-contract agreement with PSG until 2026, with the club now focused on securing a similar deal with Mbappe.
However, as Williams explains, while Brazil forward looks set to stay at the Parc des Princes, his strike partner’s long-term future appears less secure.
“It seems likely that Neymar is going to commit his future to PSG shortly,” he said. “Mbappe’s situation looks a little less clear cut.
“The France international admitted in January that he was “reflecting” on his future and with his contract due to expire in 2022, PSG may face a choice between losing him for free next year or cashing in – as best they can, in the current financial climate – this summer.”
