Paris sank (despite a rather flattering score) on Wednesday on the lawn of Manchester City.
As since the start of the season, PSG have shown shortcomings at all levels.
We decided to select a few for you (non-exhaustive list) and rate them according to their severity.
At the Etihad Stadium,
The rout of PSG against Manchester City on Wednesday evening once again highlighted an incredible number of problems in a team yet sensible - at least on paper - to roll on Europe of football.
We could have devoted an entire article to each of these shortcomings, but there are so many that we preferred to opt for a small condensed version of wet finger notation, you will not blame us.
A team cut in two
Rereading our notes, we came across this hastily scribbled sentence: “3 in front, everything else behind and inch'Allah brothers! ". From memory, it was at the very beginning of the meeting, when PSG offered one of its rare counter-attacks of the match. After a ball recovery in front of the defense, the ball is quickly raised by Neymar, who combines with Messi, who combines with Mbappé. Problem, when he wanted to seek support in withdrawal, there was no living soul. This is all the misfortune of this PSG: with three players of the caliber of the MNM, Paris seems to believe that it is enough to swing the ball far in front of them for the lightning to fall on the adversaries.
Severity of the situation: 3/10.
We're going to be nice to begin with.
First because it will not be every day Manchester City (and its crazy pressing) opposite, and then because with players of the quality of Hakimi and Nuno Mendes on the sides, not to mention Verratti which will end up one day by returning to a field, Paris should still be able to project in numbers when the opportunities arise.
The attack of PSG during the defensive phases.
One of the many problems of the PSG? #UCL |
#MCIPSG |
#PSG pic.twitter.com/Wkwm0M2eL0
- Canal Supporters (@CanalSupporters) November 24, 2021
An attacking trio that refuses to defend
Now let's take the problem backwards. If the leading trio is not much supported in the offensive phase, what about the defensive support of the three frontiers… Wednesday evening, while the waves were breaking on the goals of Navas, what was the MNM doing? She wasn't jogging, no, she was walking. They barely deigned to take a look at what was going on behind their backs. That Neymar, Mbappé and Messi do not hurt themselves to help the withdrawal against Angers, Metz or Bordeaux still passes, but here we are talking about Manchester City. After the meeting, Marquinhos raised his voice: “We tried to defend well but they were superior on the sides. The defensive aspect is a collective aspect, everyone has to do better. "
Severity of the situation: 9/10.
Why such a fear?
This is what we said above: if the three in front do not see fit to come and interfere with the opposing raises in a match of such importance, against a team of the caliber of Manchester City, how can we imagine that they decide to change anything in the future?
Impossible.
Paris therefore seems condemned to having to defend at 7, and therefore to say goodbye to its dreams of a collective team which is united together.
Only positive point: they had more or less done it in the first leg (well, especially Neymar), it is therefore that they are capable of it the bastards.
The heatmap of PSG against City… The red zone is the surface of Keylor Navas 😐 #MCIPSG pic.twitter.com/4Liiq6NcwF
- Yohan Roblin (@yohanroblin) November 24, 2021
An unrecognizable team without Verratti in the middle
The game against City and the way in which PSG were unable to properly release the ball under pressure reminded us of how much there is a Paris with Verratti and a Paris without. On Wednesday, not a player of the three in the middle (Gueye, Paredes, Herrera) managed to properly release the ball to get rid of the pressure from Mancun. In truth, if the attacking trio monopolizes all the light on him, the real master at playing, the metronome, the one who dictates the tempo and gets you out of the mud when the opponent is at the pressing, it is the Little Owl. .
Severity of the situation: 6/10.
Until now, we had grown used to seeing Verratti and his crepe paper body only about every other match.
The fault of repeated injuries and a healthy lifestyle not always conducive to high level football.
From now on, the Italian is becoming even rarer and we wonder one day if he will manage to make a full season without farting.
Present the day before the match in conf, he explained the happiness that was his to play such a meeting of C1.
Except that in the meantime Verratti has resumed a farce in training, the rest we know.
In the future, PSG would do well to invest in a profile similar to his or else having to struggle in the middle of 3/4 of the season.
Still no collective identity
We are not going to discuss this subject for long since we have not stopped talking about it since the start of the season, even since the start of the year, even since the departure of Laurent Blanc.
PSG suffers from a deep evil, that of not being a football team but an addition of individuals.
No preferential circuits in the game, no tactical consistency, a glaring lack of collective creativity.
On Wednesday, the difference with the perfectly set clock that is Pep Guardiola's Manchester City was scary to see.
A soccer team against soccer players is stupid but it makes all the difference.
Mauricio Pochettino amazing tactics vs Manchester City • 11/24/2021 • UCL • Asado Thierry Goudet pic.twitter.com/BYOzSvpGYm
- Scipio (@Scipionista) November 24, 2021
Severity of the situation: Help
/ 10.
We could overwhelm Mauricio Pochettino - and we will do it - but it is not forbidden to expect the players to find the solution themselves. However, the weeks pass and no progress on the horizon, which begins to be slightly worrying. The truth is that we do not see how things could change with the Argentine coach on the bench. And what is this mania for refusing to play in 3-5-2 when the Parisian workforce seems cut out to be three behind?
You only have to reread the various interviews that Pochettino gave recently to understand that he is not happy in Paris.
And if we had to go further, we could even go back to Doha.
It's all well and good to keep trying to hit the coaching market, but if at some point you don't give them a little bit of decision-making power over sports policy, don't expect things to change in the future. common sense.
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