PSG vs. Barcelona: Lessons Learned from Champions League Game
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Barcelona 3-2 in a thrilling affair Tuesday night that left the French side at the top of Group F.
The hosts received goals from David Luiz, Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi to push past a Barcelona side that held 63 percent of the possession but only took two shots on target.
The two shots on target earned by the visitors resulted in goals from Lionel Messi and Neymar, both of which came right after goals scored by the hosts.
Continue reading on for a look at the five lessons we took away from the entertaining Group F clash.
Barcelona's Set-Piece Defending Was Awful
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The first two goals scored by PSG came off set pieces thanks to some brutal defending by the visitors.
On the first goal, David Luiz was given plenty of time to turn and shoot after the ball fell to his feet off a free-kick from Lucas.
Things went from bad to worse in the 26th minute, when 5'5" Marco Verratti was allowed to head in a corner kick.
Verratti was able to spring himself free on the far post due to bad positioning from Marc-Andre ter Stegen and terrible marking by Ivan Rakitic.
PSG Absorbed the Barca Pressure Well
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From the first minute on, Barcelona used a high press to create possession in the attacking third of the pitch.
That strategy worked extremely well for the Spanish giants, but there was one problem: the failure to put chances on goal.
The PSG defense allowed Barcelona to string together passes in the final third all night long, but the only two shots on target came on the two goals.
The only other significant chance allowed by the stingy PSG defense was a shot from distance by Munir El Haddadi that nailed the post late in the match.
Dani Alves Brought Up More Questions About His Selection
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One of the worst performances of the match came from Dani Alves, who struggled in most aspects of the game.
In the ninth minute, Alves opted to play the ball out of the box by himself, but that did not work out, as he was booked for a handball in the process. That handed the hosts a free-kick, which produced the first goal.
Throughout most of the match, Alves was out of the picture in attack, and he gave Luis Enrique plenty of reasons to take him off in favor of an attacker in the 83rd minute.
Alves did earn an assist on Neymar's goal, but that was due to PSG's crowding of Messi in the box before Neymar cleaned up the mess.
Had PSG defended properly on the cross, Alves would have left the pitch with nothing to his name.
PSG's Front Three Looked Fine Without Zlatan
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The big concern for Laurent Blanc's side entering the match was how the front three would perform without Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
All three players tasked with the challenge of replacing Ibrahimovic played well in a match that the hosts needed to take control of Group F.
Edinson Cavani, Javier Pastore and Lucas Moura all combined well together, and they used their pace to tear apart the Barcelona back four on the counter.
Lucas was the most impressive player of the trio, as his abilities on the counter put Barcelona in danger on numerous occasions throughout the match.
Cavani did the most work in front of goal with four shots, while Pastore was the most active with 60 touches, per WhoScored.com.
Blanc was quoted by Reuters, via The Guardian, as saying, "Perhaps we were too reliant on Ibra. It’s a good thing for the team that they played very well without him."
Marquinhos' Late Clearance Could Be Vital Later in Group Stage
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With Barcelona pressing for a third goal late in the match, Marquinhos made the defensive play of the game with a sliding challenge across the box to deny Jordi Alba.
If the PSG center-back had failed to get his body on the ball and force a corner, the match could've ended in a draw, which would have kept Barcelona on top of the group.
Instead, PSG will head into Matchdays 3 and 4 against APOEL with a one-point advantage in Group F.
With two presumably easy games coming up next for the French side, and a home clash against Ajax on Matchday 5, they could return to the Camp Nou on Matchday 6 with an insurmountable lead in the group table.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
