At the Parc des Princes,
We heard, in the stands, “Roooh”, “Raaah” of frustration, disappointment, even anger. Crude words, too, obviously, when the ball was lost one after the other, in Paris’s own half, letting the Italians come dangerously, and easily, close to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s goals. We also saw Luis Enrique grumbling on certain occasions in front of his bench at the start of the match.
Because, if the final score against AC Milan (3-0) is dry for Paris Saint-Germain, the fact remains that the capital club experienced a complicated first period, notably the twenty- first five minutes. Losses of balls in the axis, unsuccessful overflows, poorly assured passes, disagreement between the three in front – Mbappé, Dembélé and Kolo Muani – nothing, or almost nothing, worked, as the Spanish coach pointed out, in the conference of press after match:
The first twenty-five minutes were for AC Milan, they were impressive. They pressed us well, we made a lot of mistakes in defense and in our ball exits. This generated a lack of confidence which handicapped us at the start of the match. »
“They were more incisive”
Fortunately for Paris, Olivier Giroud’s teammates, too neutral on Wednesday evening, did not appear to be fundamentally dangerous, apart from a curled shot at ground level from Rafael Leao (26th), which Pierre Kalulu deplored, moreover, the Rossonero defender: “We started this match well, we managed to press and recover the ball high, what made the difference was the lack of efficiency, the chances in both areas, they were more incisive than us. » Incisive, yes, from the first opportunity.
After a stratospheric ball from Warren Zaire-Emery, who took poor Tijjani Reijnders on his back, Kylian Mbappé made Fikayo Tomori dance: passing legs, on goal I blaze. 1-0, thank you goodbye, the match changed in the 32nd minute of a match which was nevertheless off to a bad start. “Kylian’s goal reassured us and we managed the rest of the first period better, but not better than Milan,” insisted Luis Enrique.
What half-time recipe?
No, to wait for PSG to become the war machine that it only intermittently is, we had to wait for the second half. It seems that, like Novak Djokovic’s bathroom break when he is behind in a Grand Slam, the return to the locker room allowed the Parisians to find new momentum. And it was not lemons, oranges or other energy drinks that brought about this turnaround, but a three-step plan, skillfully detailed by the actors themselves.
- Better communication: “We all communicate together, we tell each other things that aren’t going well and we come back better. It’s the strength of a group to know how to say things to each other when things aren’t going well. It’s something that not all teams have, and it shows all the solidarity we have [dans cette équipe] », Soberly explained Warren Zaire-Emery, named man of the match.
- Better control of the match: “We always try to have the ball, we always want to dominate, always win the duels. The coach always insists on dominating the opponent and that the most important thing is to have the ball. And thanks to that, we were able to be very good [sur le terrain] and win the three points,” detailed Korean Kang-in Lee, scorer of the third goal.
- Better adjustments: “We were a different team in the second half. With more confidence, more pressure and projection. We were better, with more chances and goals scored,” Luis Enrique simply indicated.
A quick action plan
The return from the locker room was brutal for the Italians. In five minutes, Paris came back with a knife between its teeth, like Manuel Ugarte, author of a monstrous charge that no player present on Saturday at the Stade de France for the Rugby World Cup final would deny. Unfortunately for the Uruguayan, the ball here is round, and this prevented the validation of the goal scored, in the process, by Ousmane Dembélé (48th).
But it was only a postponement. Milan, on respiratory assistance, saw Maignan save his team for the first time on a shot from Mbappé, before, on the following corner, the French international goalkeeper repelled a shot from Dembélé directly into the feet of Kolo Muani, who had not just adjust, flat foot safety. We were playing the 53rd minute of play, and Paris had put its plan of attack into action.
The rest was just a long walk of around forty minutes for PSG, only worried by a strike from Rafael Leao (77th) on one of the rare Milanese incursions. Paris, for its part, managed, with some flashes from the Korean Kang-in Lee, author of a superb entry, Théo Hernandez will be able to say something about it, concluded with a goal at the end of the match (88th). Satisfied, Luis Enrique? “We played our game. » We understand, we will come back.