PSG Warm Up for Chelsea with Routine Lens Win to Hit Ligue 1 Top Spot

Paris Saint-Germain warmed up perfectly for their UEFA Champions League last 16 second leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday with a straightforward 4-1 win over RC Lens at Parc des Princes on Saturday.

The result takes Laurent Blanc’s men a provisional two points clear of Olympique Lyonnais ahead of Les Gones’ difficult clash away at Montpellier HSC on Sunday.

Le President revealed to PSG.fr (in French) after the match that he was pleased with the chances created during the victory, but also claimed that he still wants to see his side be more clinical because of the lower number of chances they will be afforded by Chelsea next week.

Compared with the way they prepared for the first leg of their Chelsea clash, a late 2-2 draw at home to Stade Malherbe Caen with a plethora of injuries, this was ideal preparation.

David Luiz’s first half free-kick and a second half penalty from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well late efforts from substitutes Blaise Matuidi and Javier Pastore mean that Yoann Touzghar’s goal for Lens was nothing more than consolation.

Les Sang et Or’s coach Antoine Komboare was deservedly given a warm welcome by the Parc des Princes crowd because of his legendary status as a player and later tactician, but the 51-year-old watched his team badly cave in after they gave themselves a chance at 2-1.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

However, Lens should not even have still been in the game at that point. Although the 4-1 final score suggests that PSG were clinical in front of goal, it could not be further from the truth.

Les Parisiens were wasteful on Saturday and if they play the same way in front of goal against Chelsea next week, they will not be reaching a third consecutive Champions League quarterfinal. If the defending French champions had taken even half of the chances that went begging on the day, though, things would have been even more demoralising for embattled Lens.

Ibrahimovic, despite scoring from the penalty spot in the second half, was extremely wasteful and missed two good chances in the first half. Ezequiel Lavezzi, who is far from clinical at the best of times, missed some good chances too.

At one point early in the second half, the Argentinian dribbled the ball around Lens goalkeeper Rudy Riou and attempted to walk the ball into the net. Instead, he was robbed of the ball in front of an open goal and the chance passed with the score still at 1-0.

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

PSG cannot be missing those sorts of chances in any game, but especially not in London next week when every opportunity must be made the most of. Ibrahimovic and Lavezzi were not alone in being wasteful; Luiz, Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, Gregory van der Wiel, substitutes Matuidi and Edinson Cavani also passed up good late openings.

The highlight of the game for Blanc will be the cameo performance of Pastore. Introduced with 24 minutes to play, the Argentinian playmaker scored one and laid on another.

El Flaco, wide on the right, delivered an inviting cross that Matuidi was able to slide home to make it 3-1 after 80 minutes. Then, just three minutes later, El Flaco emphatically volleyed in a delightful chipped pass from Ibrahimovic past Riou to complete the scoring.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

If there was any doubt or indecision from Blanc over selecting one of Pastore or Lavezzi pre-game, the former settled that selection headache with this short showing. Put simply, PSG are a different team with Pastore in the XI and Le President cannot afford to be without him in a match that the French giants absolutely must score in.

The late substitution of Thiago Motta also helped, with Matuidi offering a lot more in his place. Luiz performed well enough in defence, but still made enough errors to make it clear that he should be played in defensive midfield against Chelsea.

If Blanc can play Pastore from the start and keep Luiz in the deep-lying role he excelled in during the first leg against Chelsea, then PSG do stand a chance of beating Jose Mourinho’s men. But whatever happens, the men from the French capital cannot squander as many chances as they did against Lens.

On a negative note, some PSG "fans" that decided to jeer Bahebeck after his admittedly disappointing performance soured the afternoon somewhat for the hosts.

The 21-year-old has regularly delivered for Blanc when brought on as a substitute, but struggled to make the most of his rare start against the northerners. Instead of taking that and the 2-0 scoreline into account when he exited the pitch, a number of those in the crowd fiercely booed their own youth academy product off.

It is this sort of brainless behaviour that gives the French champions a reputation as having a fickle fanbase, which is not necessarily true on the whole.

PSG top until at least Sunday night, but Lens are in deep trouble. By the end of this weekend Les Sang et Or could find themselves 10 points adrift in the relegation zone and possibly even below basement rivals FC Metz.