PSG's Front 3 Fall Flat in Real Madrid Champions League Stalemate
Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid played out a 0-0 draw in Group A of the UEFA Champions League at Parc des Princes on Wednesday, leaving the hosts to rue a poor attacking display.
Laurent Blanc’s men missed a great opportunity to seize control of the group with a win against the Spaniards, who were without the likes of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Pepe and Dani Carvajal through injury.
Le President admitted that he was disappointed by the outcome when he spoke with PSG.fr after the match:
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"I’m a little disappointed by the result, because we wanted to win this match. We didn’t play two halves of equal standard, especially in the midfield. We are a very ambitious side, but it was harder than we anticipated, imposing our game on Real. We made a few little adjustments at half-time, which meant we left ourselves more open to a Real counterattack, but that was the price to pay to try and win. I think it was an even match and a draw was the right result. Our biggest strength tonight was our defence.
"
Things will be harder for PSG in the return match at the Santiago Bernabeu in two weeks’ time, as many of those players missing for Rafael Benitez’s side will be fit again and Les Parisiens may well have a few concerns of their own by then.
Real’s attack may have been depleted, but their defence remained strong and it showed in Paris with a well-organised display. Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos—who was also an injury concern pre-match—were excellent in the middle, making sure that goalkeeper Keylor Navas barely had a save to make.
The French outfit’s back line was as watertight as the visitors’ and captain Thiago Silva was impressive in the heart of the defence.
However, Real created more going forward and tested the fit-again Kevin Trapp more than PSG troubled Navas.
It was telling that the hosts’ best attempt to score all evening came from Blaise Matuidi in the first half, when his low shot forced Navas to make his only meaningful stop of the contest. PSG simply did not create enough up top.
Starting with Angel Di Maria, up against one of his former clubs, the Argentina international started brightly before fading into obscurity after the opening quarter of an hour.
Deployed on the right of a front three, as he often has been since he arrived in Paris, El Fideo’s performance was marred by poor decision-making, disappointing crosses and runs that often led nowhere.
It is not the first time that Di Maria has failed to impose himself upon the opponents with PSG, but it was by far his most disappointing display so far.
The rest he was given while his teammates were winning 2-0 away at SC Bastia last weekend was not enough to produce the sort of showing that is expected of him, especially in the Champions League—the stage that matters most to the club’s Qatari owners.
Although Di Maria has produced some good performances from his wide-right berth, perhaps it is not the best position for him. On the left, a position that he is far more at ease in, he could offer Blanc and PSG more.
Instead, Edinson Cavani occupies a loose left-sided berth at present, and the Uruguayan was every bit as disappointing as his fellow South American during the Real stalemate.
El Matador looked lost on the left, as he often does on big Champions League nights when asked to put in a shift defensively but also get forward to finish off attacks.
Cavani did what was asked of him defensively, so he did not get a real sniff of goal at any point during the encounter. The closest the PSG No. 9 even came to a shot in Navas’ direction was an ill-advised attempt from distance that an uncompromising Ramos blocked.
With left-back Maxwell behind Cavani and not getting forward as much as Serge Aurier was on the right, the home side lacked any real presence on the left side.
The lack of the 28-year-old in the middle, combined with Zlatan Ibrahimovic dropping deep to pick up the ball, also meant there was no real focal point in attack.
Despite a poor showing up until he was substituted in the 66th minute, Cavani can perhaps feel aggrieved that he was not given the chance to stay on instead of the Swede. With a bit of pace and creativity alongside him, the former SSC Napoli man could have tested the Real back line.
Instead, Varane, Ramos and Navas went largely undisturbed, and part of the reason for that was a sluggish display from Ibrahimovic. The 34-year-old dropped deeper than usual in an attempt to bridge the gap between midfield and attack but instead just served to slow down the attack.
The talismanic striker was too ponderous on the ball, and up against a top—albeit depleted—side, the performance once again emphasised that he is no longer what he was physically between 2012 and 2014.
However, that has been clear since he was fit enough to return to action last season.
Blanc needs to find a solution for Wednesday’s problems with the front three, and fast. Although the attack has not been this anaemic so far in Ligue 1, there are no domestic rivals on a par with Real to expose the severity of this issue.
If PSG want to win in Madrid, they need to find a way to create more chances from central areas and not just out wide. Javier Pastore could be key to that.
The Argentina international was introduced after 66 minutes and impressed when he came on. The Parc des Princes crowd was chanting his name for some time before his introduction, indicating that the PSG fans recognise that El Flaco is the sort of creative talent needed to unlock a tough defence like Real’s.
Lucas Moura also put in a positive cameo appearance, coming on at the same time as Pastore. The Brazilian’s speed and trickery caused Los Merengues a few issues, and he even helped out defensively.
With Pastore’s creativity and Lucas’ pace—certainly the former, as Di Maria also offers considerable speed when on song—PSG could have posed Real more problems from the start. Blanc needs to consider utilising one or both of the South Americans in the return leg.
In order to hurt Real at the Santiago Bernabeu in a few weeks’ time, Blanc might need to choose one of Cavani or Ibrahimovic and not start with both.
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