5 Issues Paris Saint-Germain Need to Work on During International Break

With nine games played in this Ligue 1 season, it has been a less than convincing start for champions Paris Saint-Germain. Three wins and six draws is not what you would expect from the most star-studded team in Le Championnat.

They have had problems in a lot of different areas. Injuries have stopped Laurent Blanc playing his ideal first XI for more than the majority of the opening two months.

Some of the problems have been of PSG’s own doing though. Constantly throwing away leads from winning positions and then failing to put games out of reach when they have their opponents on the ropes.

Blanc himself has come under criticism for the way he has been managing the squad. At times he has also failed to utilise his substitutes in an effective way, not reacting to the game when it is turning against them.

Here are five issues PSG need to work on during the international break.

Taking Their Foot off the Gas

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When a team sits on top of the league with a comfortable points lead, it can be easy to take your foot off the gas and coast towards the end of the season. PSG did it last year after they won the title.

The problem this season is that they seem to be stuck in that same attitude since the start of the season.

Starting this campaign without a serious challenger for their league crown has led to an air of entitlement around this PSG side.

As soon as they go a goal up, the mentality seems to be that the game is over and there is no drive towards going two or three nil up.

The games against Rennes, Lyon, Toulouse and Monaco all followed the same pattern. PSG took the lead, only to throw it away. If this team plays at the level everyone knows they can, they could easily win every game by at least two goals.

Now there is a fear amongst the squad, confirmed by Laurent Blanc via Goal.com, that there is an almost inevitable feeling that when they go ahead, they will concede. That leads to the team defending deeper and not playing to their strengths.

If PSG are to catch Marseille, they need to make their domination count for more than the first 25 minutes.

Rediscover That Killer Instinct

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When a team, according to WhoScored, is averaging 66 percent possession every game and at least 12 shots on goal, five of them on target, PSG should really be more clinical in front of goal.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the team’s top scorer with five goals, but three of them came against Saint-Etienne, a game which was more about the away side’s failings rather than PSG’s domination. The other two came in the opening-day draw with Stade de Reims.

That means that PSG’s top striker has only scored in two of his five appearances. However, he is by far not the worst offender.

The Swede has attempted 22 shots in five games, averaging 4.4 per game, but his partner Edinson Cavani has only attempted 30, that is only 3.3 per game on average.

Cavani also has three goals in nine games and is going through a personal slump at the moment.

Outside of their two strikers, only four other PSG players have found the net this season. Zoumana Camara scored his first goal in three years and Jean-Christophe Bahebeck picked up his first goal for the club against Toulouse.

If the strikers are going to struggle, more of the PSG side have to step up and share the goal burden. Finding that killer instinct throughout the team would help cure a lot of PSG’s problems this season.

Leanr to Give Youth a Chance to Shine

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One of the best features of Ligue 1 is the emergence of young talent throughout the league. However, over the past five years, many players have escaped the attentions of PSG and have slipped away under their noses.

France under-21 international Kingsley Coman moved to Juventus in the summer. France under-20 centre-back Antoine Conte moved to Reims and you also have the likes of Hervin Ongenda and Alphonse Areola out on loan.

PSG have struggled lately to find the right balance of sending players out on loan and giving them first-team opportunities.

This season, Bahebeck has started to win minutes with a few players out injured, but Blanc needs to look at playing his younger players more often, and before they decide to move elsewhere.

The established PSG players seem to realise that the squad is lacking quality in depth, so no matter how they play, the chances are they will continue to play.

Using Bahebeck, Lucas Digne, or even players like Jean-Kevin Augustin or Anthony Petrilli, who have impressed for PSG’s second team, would give the first-team players motivation to perform week-in, week-out.

If you know your place is under threat, you know you can’t let your level of performances slip.

This season, Bahebeck is the only player in this current PSG squad that has come through the youth setup to start a game for the capital club this season.

It is difficult to look away from the multi-million-pound signings, but a look to the young would breathe new life into this very-talented side.

Blanc Needs to Ask Questions of His Squad

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Javier Pastore was superb in Sunday’s draw against Monaco at the Parc des Princes. It was one of his most impressive performances in a PSG shirt and it will hopefully see the form continue this season.

After the game on Sunday, Blanc admitted that his team were tired after the midweek game against Barcelona, via Matthew Rogerson of Goal.com.

"

My team were very tired in the last 10 minutes and unintentionally we dropped back, even though we must not forget that Monaco had a good second half.

"We weren't brilliant but could we really be after the huge amount of energy we expended [against Barcelona] on Tuesday.

"

On the surface it is easy to understand, but it does ask some questions. Regardless of Pastore’s performance, should he have still been on the pitch with 15 minutes remaining, or should Blanc have changed things up.

It’s not a matter of not having the players available. PSG had €25 million midfielder Yohan Cabaye on the bench, even the experience Clement Chantome is more than capable of playing in the midfield.

All three attackers that played against Barcelona also played again against Monaco. Blanc needs to mix things up if PSG are to compete in both the league and Champions League.

The former France national team boss needs to utilise players from the bench when his team is tired, and rotate his starting line-ups to help get the best out of his squad.

Look to Add Versatility to the System This Season

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Last season, Blanc stumbled upon the current 4-3-3 formation when they played Bordeaux early in the season, and it has been his preferred system ever since.

This is not to say it hasn’t worked, two championship and two Champions League quarter-finals suggest a certain level of success.

However, what Blanc has shown, is an unwillingness to change it when things aren’t going his way. With Ibrahimovic out, the formation has changed slightly, with Pastore playing in the No.10 role, but he has drifted wide and ultimately it looks like the normal 4-3-3 again.

When they play at the Parc des Princes, Blanc could go more flamboyant and look to play a more attacking system. There is no real need for all three central midfielders every game, you could play with two, then two wingers and two forwards.

That would ask more questions of the opposition, and help PSG add an air of unpredictability.

There is also the opportunity to play three at the back when Thiago Silva comes back, to help keep Marquinhos in the side after his excellent start.

Versatility would help when PSG fail to break down tough defences. Everyone knows how Blanc is going to lineup, so they are able to put together a plan to try and stop them.

Changing things up, working on a Plan B or even C could help PSG find a way past the most stubborn of opponents.