How PSG Will Cope with Lucas Moura Injury Absence for Champions League 2nd Leg

It has not been the best week for Paris Saint-Germain. Unable to capitalise on dropped points from both Marseille and Lyon to go top of Ligue 1, the 1-1 draw with Chelsea leaves them with a huge mountain to climb if they want to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and Thursday, it was revealed that Brazilian forward Lucas Moura will likely miss the next four weeks, including the game at Stamford Bridge.

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.@PSG_inside's injury woes have @LucasnaRede_, @Serge_aurier set to miss return leg of #UCL clash vs @ChelseaFC: http://t.co/yXX6gVNP9v

— Ligue1 (@Ligue1) February 19, 2015"

However, this huge blow could give manager Laurent Blanc a chance to try something new, just like his decision in the first leg to play David Luiz in defensive midfield for the first time this season.

There is absolutely no shame in PSG falling to Chelsea on March 11. It doesn't matter that they have gone out a round earlier than last season. Twelve months ago, they beat Bayer Leverkusen before Chelsea knocked them out in the quarter-finals. This year, it's Chelsea first.

Despite what PSG's owners, Qatar Sports Investments, may think, it's not a backward step. Knockout competitions come down to more than just how good your team can perform. You cannot factor in getting a tough draw.

Jose Mourinho has never been beaten after finishing a first leg 1-1, so PSG would have to make history in London. That doesn't mean it's impossible; it just makes it very difficult.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

This season, some of the best football PSG have played came in the two months when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was out with a heel injury. This wasn't just down to the Swede being removed from the line-up but for the tweak that Blanc made to the formation, something he has been criticised for not doing enough.

Blanc's adapted system saw Javier Pastore play in the No. 10 role in front of the typical three-man PSG midfield, with Edinson Cavani and Moura playing as a central duo with license to pull wide and make runs to the flank the same in reverse.

Without Moura, the temptation would be to continue with the 4-3-3 and hope to create chances on the break with the pace of Ezequiel Lavezzi, but Blanc should consider moving back to the 4-3-1-2 and build the counter-attacks on a well-organised defensive unit.

Luiz could continue his role in the midfield if Thiago Motta is still not 100 per cent fit, with Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti either side of the Brazilian. You then add Pastore to the mix, just in front on the midfield troika.

Jacques Brinon/Associated Press

Pastore would not only add a more creative aspect to the midfield, but he is able to drop deeper and cover the forward runs of both Verratti and—most importantly—Matuidi.

With Ibrahimovic still likely to drop deep, it would be up to Pastore to seize these opportunities and push further forward and link with Cavani.

Playing Cavani and Ibrahimovic as a partnership is always a risk, especially with passes and interchanges between the two at a minimum, but what a time to put any differences behind them and look to build a brighter future for the Parisian club.

PSG need to give Mourinho and Chelsea something to think about. Playing 4-3-3 with Lavezzi, Cavani and Ibrahimovic worked to a certain extent during the first leg, but that was against a disappointing Chelsea side.

Blanc needs to open up his tactics book and look to mix things up. Playing Pastore in the playmaker role while knowing that the movement you will get from your other players will provide rotation and less stagnation must be something worth implementing.

Everyone expects PSG to face elimination after the second leg, so why not go out all guns blazing and at least show some tactical awareness?

It would gain Blanc more plaudits to go out after having a go, taking some chances and losing after laying it all on the line rather than exit without so much as a whimper and thinking about what could have been.

Losing Lucas Moura for the second leg is a huge loss, but it may have just opened up a window of opportunity for Blanc to save his—and PSG's—season.