The French star prefers to see his Argentine teammate play down the middle.
Paris Sanit-Germain defeated Ligue 1 champions Lille with a 5-1 result on Sunday. Lionel Messi scored his side’s fourth goal after providing an assist for Presnel Kimpembe in the first half.
It was Messi’s fifth goal of the season, his first one since scoring against Nantes in November. Messi’s brilliant performance came after a change in his position on the pitch.
The Argentine has often played wide from the right for PSG in recent months. However, Pochettino used Messi as his side’s primary centre forward against Lille. With the plan working out perfectly, Messi’s teammate Kylian Mbappe would like to see him in his new role more often.
“It’s better when Leo is in the middle? Yes, but I’m not the coach,” the Frenchman told Amazon Prime.
“Leo is a player who needs to be on the ball, to feel the game and the match to be involved. I think it’s a good position for him, he’s free, he can move around and take off.
“Me, I can play everywhere. I started in the middle, then on the right and now on the left but I still have a certain freedom in my movements.”
PSG will face Rennes in their next Ligue 1 game on Friday. Messi and co will then face Real Madrid in a crunch Champions League battle four days later.
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