Mauricio Pochettino must fix PSG's fragile mentality to fulfil potential

When everything is going well and the attacking quartet of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Mauro Icardi are on song, there are few sides capable of keeping PSG at bay.

But Mauricio Pochettino knows, having succeeded Thomas Tuchel in the managerial hot seat, that there are significant problems to iron out in the French capital if they're to fulfil their fledgling ambitions of becoming champions of Europe.

Currently, when the chips are down and PSG aren't getting their own way, they are vulnerable and prone to an inexplicable mental meltdown.

That fragile state of mind was again on evidence during both legs of their 4-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final. Having fallen behind in both games, PSG had a man sent off on each occasion - and as proceedings wore on, the negative change in body language and mental application was visible for all to see.

You only need to look at Di Maria's non existing tracking of Phil Foden - who would profit from the Argentine's defensive ineptitude to assist City's second goal at the Etihad - for specific evidence to point towards.

But this demeanour wasn't anything new for the Parisians, we've seen this kind of mentality before. There's a lack of characters, a lack of leaders and a lack of someone capable of taking the game by the scruff of the neck to say 'look, we're digging in and not letting this get away from us'.

In the 2020/21 Champions League alone, PSG fell behind on five occasions. On those five occasions, they lost. In Ligue 1, PSG have been defeated a surprise eight times - more losses than any other season under their Qatari ownership and as many as the previous two seasons combined.

That's 13 games of football that PSG have lost, primarily because they don't have the mental fortitude to get back into games. To move forward, it's a mental block that Pochettino needs to address if he is to have a chance of delivering the success the club's fans, the media and, well, his bosses expect of him.

'Mentality monsters' is a relatively new term that has often been associated with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. A team, despite their injury induced struggles this season, who never let their heads drop and work as hard as they can right up until the final whistle.

City, to a lesser extent, are cut from the same cloth, while Real Madrid - under the guidance of multi-Champions League winning manager Zinedine Zidane - have overcome significant adversity during 2020/21 to still be in with a chance of winning a domestic and continental double.

PSG , though, haven't shown that character over the years, and have often shown themselves to be a side with a soft underbelly.

Easy to rile, easy to upset and easy to get under the skin of. Granted, they did overcome Atalanta in last season's edition of the Champions League to show they can do it, but one comeback isn't the hallmark of champions.

Since then, they've gone to lose key dressing room figures in Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva, while the futures of Neymar and Mbappe remain in the spotlight. Pochettino not only needs the club to secure their futures, he needs an experienced older guard to come in and take control in the big moments.

Then, and only then, will PSG be able to realistically dream of conquering Europe. Talented players can only get you so far, because when they're not at their razor sharp best - and let's be honest, no team is ever 100% on top of their game - there needs to be an element of control from experienced winners.

In Manchester, PSG not only had no control, they were out of control - and deservedly were sent packing from the Champions League.