From our special correspondent in Dortmund,
At least this time, we won’t be able to be surprised if things don’t go quite as planned in the round of 16. Placed in a dense group, certainly, but not unplayable either when we see the situation of the three other clubs in their respective championships, PSG really came out with nothing, like never before in the QSI era. Eight points is as many as Lens who were knocked out of the Europa League on Tuesday, and the third lowest total in the club’s Champions League history after perfectly forgettable campaigns in the early 2000s. It’s bad, all the same, for a team supposed to be among the contenders for the title.
Can we still classify it as such, anyway? Doubt is allowed, if we compare with the first round played in slippers by Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester City. But even without going so far as to look at the neighbors, there are huge deficiencies in this 2023-2024 version of PSG that will have to be erased.
Already, the Parisians are not succeeding away, which can quickly become crippling in a back-and-forth confrontation. In Newcastle as in Milan, they took on water, too easily destabilized, got ahead of themselves, pushed around, including in the air where Marquinhos and especially Skriniar should nevertheless lay down the law. Even against this diminished Dortmund and initially determined not to lose, Donnarumma had a lot of work – and sometimes lucky that the Germans were as inspired as Kolo Muani. “There are a lot of things to improve,” recognizes Marquinhos, who was really more serene than in this first phase.
Luis Enrique imperturbable
It must still be said that the team is in the process of assimilating Luis Enrique’s methods, which can prove dangerous when poorly mastered. “We want to have the ball, press high, we take risks behind, we are often one against one,” continues the Brazilian defender. It’s normal, we work on our strength which is not to wait behind the opponent, the coach focuses on that. This is our philosophy, the coach always says that we are far from what he wants for his team. »
The Spaniard maintains unwavering faith in his ideas, and it is not the difficulties encountered during this first round that will make him move one iota. He is convinced, his players “will be much stronger in February”. What makes him say that? “My experience,” he replies. I coached twelve seasons, my teams always improved. I repeat, there have been eleven transfers, the idea of the game is different from what players are used to seeing in France. I have confidence in the club, in this group. »
Patience…
This is consistent with what we discovered before the meeting by digging a little into his way of proceeding. Arriving last summer, the former Roma and Barça coach likes to take his time, testing a lot of things and players, in different positions, in order to find the fairest system and that everyone is on the same page. level of integration.
In the meantime, his team lacks a solid base, references, especially in midfield, where it sometimes plays two, sometimes three, where Vitinha is thrown around everywhere, Lee Kang-In started for a crucial match at the post of torchbearer after having been used more as a winger, and Ugarte dismissed without warning while a little muscle would not hurt. Things are also moving a lot up front, both the men and the positions, with for the moment only one constant: a glaring lack of efficiency.
That for once, we cannot put it on the back of the coach, even if we can wonder about the management of Kolo Muani and Gonçalo Ramos (who was ill on Wednesday), for example. “That doesn’t concern me at all,” says Luis Enrique. We are the team that creates the most chances. What concerns me is the lack of control, when we lose the balls, when the match becomes a back and forth match. I’m thinking about solutions. But not inefficiency. We have great scorers. »
No reason to lower your head, then. As they say, we have to give the product a chance and we will see in February if PSG arrives with more certainty in the face of an opposition which promises to be much more consistent. There is life in this team, a brilliant goalkeeper when he is not asked (too much) to play with his feet, a ruffled kid in the middle trying to confiscate the keys, and a fiery duo up front (Mbappé-Dembélé ) which is much better than the stats sheet provided so far.
“It’s little by little that we will grow”
Against Dortmund, Paris fielded its youngest starting lineup (24.7 years on average) in the Champions League for more than 20 years. “It’s little by little that we will grow,” insists Marquinhos. There is still improvement in our away performance this evening [mercredi], it was very important after Newcastle and Milan. We have to work until the next stage to be better. » President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, who traveled to Germany, maintains full confidence in his coach and this project launched last summer. “Since the first match we played with Luis Enrique, we have been very satisfied,” he assures us. He does a very good job, we have an attacking style of play. We signed with him for that. » And to see beyond the winter in C1, all the same.