Why 4-3-1-2 Should Be the Go-to Formation for Laurent Blanc's PSG in 2015-16
Following their 2-0 win over Manchester United in Chicago on Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain are International Champions Cup (ICC) winners and now move on to Montreal ahead of Saturday’s Trophee des Champions clash with Olympique Lyonnais.
Coach Laurent Blanc now has a full squad available to him after Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi finally reported for pre-season duty earlier this week following this summer’s Copa America.
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Le President can now start to put his tactical plans in place for the coming season, even though he may well have to rethink them with one or two new faces joining the club before the end of the transfer window.
Essential to any formation that Blanc concocts for PSG this coming campaign will be Pastore.
The Argentina international was one of Les Parisiens’ key men last season, along with Marco Verratti, and thrived when played in his preferred No. 10 role. If the playmaker is allowed to keep his favoured position on the pitch, then El Flaco will likely continue to thrive.
However, the increasingly probable arrival of Angel Di Maria from Manchester United, as noted by Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail, will create one or two headaches for Blanc.
The addition of the Argentinian would give the French tactician exactly what he has desired for some time: a genuine wide-left attacking talent. However, it will also mean that at least one of his embarrassment of riches at Parc des Princes will have to settle for more time on the substitutes bench.
Deciding who that unlucky player is will be tough for Blanc. Of course injuries and suspensions could ultimately mean that many first team members play a similar amount of games, but in the 49-year-old’s strongest XI, somebody will inevitably have to miss out.
Making things easier is Thiago Motta.
Although Blanc would dearly love to keep hold of the Italian and continue to use him as a key member of the starting XI, the 32-year-old is adamant that he wants to leave Paris this summer, according to L'Equipe (h/t the Press Association, via ESPN), and it is looking increasingly unlikely that the French champions will be able to persuade him to stay.
Assuming that he does depart, that would free up an immediate space in the starting XI, although his replacement would almost certainly command a similarly important role too in order to join a team already packed with star names.
Sporting CP’s William Carvalho is believed to be PSG’s first choice to replace Motta, according to O Jogo (h/t the Express), but the Portuguese is currently nursing a fractured tibia and will miss the best part of three months. Even if Les Parisiens do ultimately lure him to Paris, it will be some time before he can start staking his claim for a regular starting role.
With Motta and his potential replacement at least initially out of the picture, it would mean Verratti dropping deeper to fill the defensive midfield role.
David Luiz could feasibly step out of central defence to do this too, creating a permanent starting role alongside Thiago Silva for Marquinhos. However, that move would endanger one of Verratti or Blaise Matuidi’s starting roles, and both players are rightly considered indispensable.
With that in mind, the France international would fill one of the three central midfield roles alongside the pint-sized Italian, leaving one more.
If Verratti’s position on the pitch in this 4-3-1-2 system is just in front of the defence, with Matuidi ahead of him in a more advanced role, Di Maria’s potential role will be as the third midfielder and furthest to the left of the three.
Considering that Matuidi is also left footed, it would not be unreasonable to expect a loose positioning in the middle so that he is not constantly forced onto his weaker foot and Verratti dropping into his deeper role from the right.
That has the potential to leave a big pocket of space with no PSG players to exploit it, but that is where attack-minded right-backs will come into their own. Both Serge Aurier and Gregory van der Wiel love to maraud forward and attack gaping holes on the wing, and that is exactly what they would do in this formation.
The Ivorian and the Dutchman’s attacking styles contrast with Maxwell at left-back, who is a more balanced full-back and will spend as much time focusing on the defensive side of his game as he will the offensive.
With the midfield more or less decided, except for the fact that either Lucas Moura or Ezequiel Lavezzi will likely occupy Di Maria’s expected position until the Argentinian has recovered from an injury picked up during the Copa America final, it leaves just the front two and the goalkeeper to sort out.
Between the sticks is easy; PSG have already made it sufficiently clear that new arrival Kevin Trapp will at least start the season ahead of Salvatore Sirigu. The German’s aerial prowess and technical ability with the ball at his feet is superior to that of the Italian and suits Blanc’s philosophy better.
Finally, to the front pairing.
Edinson Cavani and his agent have made it clear over the summer that certain promises were made to him toward the end of last season, when the Uruguayan was in sensational goalscoring form, and that El Matador will remain happy in the French capital if those promises are kept.
At the end of last season, we were given a glimpse of a PSG side playing with Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both occupying central roles and the indications so far this summer are that this will continue into the new term.
The Swede has been playing a deeper role at times during the recent ICC campaign, and once Cavani is reintegrated into the starting XI, it will be the Uruguayan playing the most advanced role and not Ibrahimovic.
There is the chance that this approach could interfere with key man Pastore’s position on the pitch, as the Argentinian likes to occupy the same area that Ibrahimovic favours to collect the ball from deep.
However, if Blanc gives Pastore freedom to roam in his playmaker role, then it will be possible for the South American and the Scandinavian to combine to devastating effect.
PSG’s 6-0 annihilation of EA Guingamp toward the end of last season was an example of all parts working in perfect harmony. It is one thing destroying limited domestic opponents like the Bretons, though, and another beating the likes of a Lyon, AS Monaco, AS Saint-Etienne or Olympique de Marseille—and especially European foes.
Lucas and Lavezzi are the two players who stand to lose the most if this formation does become Blanc’s go-to choice for the coming season. However, realistically, injuries, suspensions and greater rotation in order to aid deep runs across all competitions will likely see those two feature regularly.
It might not look like the easiest formation to use, but the 4-3-1-2 is the only feasible system that can utilise the bulk of PSG’s star names and keep them happy this season. Whether Blanc ultimately uses it ahead of his favoured Barcelona-esque 4-3-3 is another question entirely.
Bleacher Report is Official Media Partner of the International Champions Cup North America.
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