5 Issues PSG Need to Work on During November International Break

Paris Saint-Germain come into the November international break having whittled Olympique de Marseille’s lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table down to just one solitary point from seven just three weeks ago.

Six wins from six matches in all competitions have seen the French champions recover from their slow start to the season and reach the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League.

Now, with eight matches across three different competitions left until the winter break, coach Laurent Blanc needs to fine tune his side to make sure that they get the maximum out of this next run and finally hit top spot in Le Championnat before the end of 2014.

In these coming matches, Les Parisiens will be involved in Ligue 1, Champions League and Coupe de la Ligue action, with a chance to go top of the league, seal top spot in Group F and reach the quarterfinals respectively. In order to do that, Blanc needs to iron out a few minor issues in the side.

Here are those issues that PSG need to work on during the November international break. 

5. Injuries

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Just when it looked as if PSG were over the worst of their injury problems, Blaise Matuidi, Lucas Moura and Marco Verratti have all been hit by problems that have forced them to withdraw from international duty.

Matuidi’s recent surgery on a hand problem could keep him out of the capital outfit’s next two matches against FC Metz and AFC Ajax, while Lucas and Verratti should be back by the time the team travels to the Stade Saint-Symphorien.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains questionable, even if he made his return from injury against Marseille recently, so these injury issues are something that Blanc must get on top of during the pause. 

4. Intensity

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One of PSG’s biggest problems this season has been their lack of intensity for a full 90 minutes during matches.

Although they have been able to keep their performances at a high level in games, such as the 3-2 win over Barcelona and the 2-0 win over Marseille, Les Parisiens need to be sustaining their best form over a longer period of time during encounters.

That loss of momentum is one of the main reasons why PSG have struggled to kill off opponents in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League. Blanc must remedy this so that the French champions can rediscover their utterly dominant form from last year. 

3. Efficiency

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Despite their six wins from their last six fixtures in all competitions, PSG are still lacking a clinical touch in front of goal to make these narrow wins a little more convincing.

The two 1-0 wins over APOEL in the Champions League and the 2-1 win away at FC Lorient were close encounters, and Blanc needs to see his side taking more of their chances.

With the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi remaining in Paris over the international break, Blanc and his staff should take the opportunity to work closely with some of the less efficient members of the team.

Should he be fit enough to train, Lucas could also benefit from some more practice in front of goal, despite his impressive performances so far this season. 

2. Tactical Flexibility

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One aspect of PSG’s style of play that Blanc was criticised for earlier in the season is the team’s lack of tactical flexibility.

Although Les Parisiens are winning games once again, that brittleness is still there and is evident every now and then.

Blanc and his players have experimented with a 4-3-1-2 instead of their default 4-3-3 shape, but Ibrahimovic’s return almost certainly means that the team will revert to that latter style again.

It would not hurt for Le President to come up with one or two other tactical alternatives to familiarise his players with. 

1. Focus on League

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Between now and the winter break is the perfect time for PSG to usurp Marseille at the top of the table and put themselves in a commanding position ahead of the latter stages of the Champions League.

While finishing top of Group F above Barcelona would be a good achievement, topping the pool is not the be all and end all.

Hitting top spot in Ligue 1 before Christmas and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Coupe de la Ligue should now be the team’s main priority. Blanc should be using this international break to put more emphasis on the team’s league form after their recent scare in Lorient, otherwise they risk undoing all of their recent hard work.