PSG Survive the Battle of Bastia and Pick Up 1-0 Victory

After the fireworks against Olympique Lyonnais in the Trophee des Champions, Paris Saint-Germain were brought down to earth a little on Friday night. Although they won the match 1-0, they struggled to break down SC Bastia in the opening fixture of their Ligue 1 campaign.

A well-taken volley from Layvin Kurzawa was enough to separate the two sides, but Unai Emery will be far from delighted with his team's overall performance at the Stade Armand Cesari.

Away in Corsica, the aim is always just to leave unscathed, and despite the actions of the home players and fans, the Parisians did enough to open with the all-important victory.

However, there were lessons to learn for both the champions and the teams they will take on this season.

Emery admitted after the game, according to the PSG official website: 

"

We're very happy to have won. The context of the game made things difficult, with a lot of pressure from our opponents and the fans. We played well, particularly in the second half even if there are several things that need improving, things I saw in the first half. That said, the three points will give us confidence. I'm happy with the work put in, the tactical work we have done and very happy with the way the players who came off the bench adapted.

"

The main concern for the Spanish coach will be PSG's inability to break down the islanders for huge parts of the game. He'll also be worried by just how flat they were throughout.

Up until the goal, a well-taken Kurzawa strike, it would have been fair to say it was a disappointing performance. That was magnified by just how good they looked against Lyon last weekend.

OL shot themselves in the foot. Bruno Genesio set his team up playing a very high line, but it was too high. They also failed to pressure the two PSG central midfielders, who were allowed to pick their passes and find runners with balls over the top.

Bastia didn't fall into the same trap, and they played the game almost perfectly.

With Sebastien Squillaci and Mathieu Peybernes at the back, they couldn't afford to play the way Lyon did. That limited the space in behind them.

Alexander Djiku and Florian Marange were excellent on the flanks. On the right, Djiku dealt with the threat of Angel Di Maria, but it was the runs from Kurzawa that he tracked well, and he also covered at the back post when the crosses were coming over from the far side.

Without a recognised centre-forward, Bastia knew what they had to do to limit PSG. They packed the midfield, with strong performances from Yannick Cahuzac, Mehdi Mostefa and Lassana Coulibaly.

According to WhoScored.com, the trio made 11 tackles and 11 interceptions between them, not giving PSG time to execute the same passes that found so much success against Lyon.

Just like last week, Hatem Ben Arfa was virtually non-existent. He had only 33 touches of the ball, the fewest of any PSG outfield player who started the match. It was no surprise when he was replaced by new signing Jese Rodriguez with 26 minutes to go.

Nine minutes later, PSG had the lead, and Jese played a role in the opener. Pastore slipped the Spaniard through after he made a good run, finding a gap between defenders. His shot was saved, and Kurzawa followed it up with a left-foot volley.

Jese may not have bags of experience as a centre-forward, but he is much more suited to the role than Ben Arfa.

Bastia knew that PSG would lack a prominent figure in the penalty box, so they almost gave away space down the flanks, allowing crosses into the box, knowing their defenders could cope with the danger.

In the end, it was a ball in behind that started their downfall.

Lucas Moura told Canal Plus (via PSG’s website) after the game: 

"

It's always difficult to win here. We came here to play good football. The most important thing this evening is the victory. We take home the three points, that's the most important thing of course, it was our objective. Little by little, the coach's instructions are bearing fruit. We have to be more organised. We're going to improve, get better and stronger. We're just at the start. We're going to do some good things this season.

"

The Brazilian is right, this is just the beginning, and the signs are there that this will be a dangerous attack once it learns to deal with the different challenges Ligue 1 will offer.

At home, no one will be able to defend quite as tight on the wide Parc des Princes pitch, but those are the games where Edinson Cavani will be important. His aerial ability means that you have to respect the cross that much more—more than Bastia had to with Ben Arfa playing through the middle.

There was no aerial threat at all in the box, and when that happens, you don’t have to chase down the wings and you can stay compact and organised. In Paris, the champions will pull defences out of position and create more gaps to exploit.

It will be when they play away, just like on Friday, when the home sides sit in, invite pressure and try to grind the result out. PSG need to show more patience and variety in their play.

Rather than continue to push out wide, they need to come inside and look to go through the opponent, that should then open up some more space and time down the flanks.

"The main thing was to win. It was a tight game, but we kept calm and played,” Kevin Trapp told the PSG website. “We knew it wouldn't be easy, particularly here. Of course, we knew what to expect. It's not easy to come to Bastia for your first game, but we did the most important thing: we won."

PASCAL POCHARD CASABIANCA/Getty Images

One thing PSG won’t have to face again this season is as hostile a crowd as they found on Friday. Lucas Moura was disgracefully struck by an object, although, according to the Bastia Twitter account, they felt he made the most of it. It shouldn’t have happened full stop.

Buoyed on by their home fans, Bastia were ready for a physical war and made sure PSG knew it. As Trapp suggested, this is never an easy trip and a game in which you always know you will get a fight.

Not many teams will offer the same fight as Bastia, but they will be able to learn from how the Corsican club took on the champions. Don’t play too high a line, pack the middle of the park and hope that Ben Arfa is the centre-forward.

PSG are only going to get better. The true sign of champions is to get the points when you are not playing well. Emery’s side did that, and if they can survive a trip to the Armand Cesari, they can achieve anything.