At the Parc des Princes,
All fans of “Football Manager”, FM for short, know it and dread it: a stats sheet with 26 shots in your favor, for only 3 for the opponent, often means that you are going to lose 1-0 on a goal from elsewhere or a blunder by one of your players. And, in the stands of the Parc des Princes, Wednesday evening, some supporters must have had a few sweats as Parisian chances ended up everywhere except between the three posts.
And then, miraculously, in the 90th minute, on an overflow of which he has the secret, after a match that was like a windshield wiper on his left side, Nuno Mendes centered, Paulo Gazzaniga, the Girona goalkeeper, transformed into Luis Arconada, and a small “1” came to chase away the “0” on the scoreboard, to the great displeasure of the Catalans, who were playing the first Champions League match in their history.
“It’s football”
1-0 for PSG, a scenario at the FM avoided, but questions remain. How did Paris manage to find itself in this critical situation, waiting for the gloves of an Argentinian goalkeeper, who until then took a malicious pleasure in being whistled to gain time, to turn into peach skin. Because, with 26 shots, Luis Enrique’s men had enormous opportunities to make life easier for themselves.
“I suffered a lot during this match, more than during childbirth, even if I wasn’t the protagonist,” commented the Spanish coach. “We had two or three huge chances, but we didn’t score. We weren’t realistic, but hey, that’s football.” The “two or three huge” chances in question:
- Ousmane Dembélé’s boulevard (54th): Launched from the halfway line, while the Catalan defense was out of position, Dembouz procrastinates, goes to the local Franprix, comes back, goes back to pay for parking. Obviously, that gives the defender time to come back.
- Ousmane Dembélé’s mine (62nd): Much more alert and quicker in the sequence, the former Rennes player sends a powerful shot that Gazzaniga manages to deflect onto his crossbar.
- Achraf Hakimi’s duel (85th): The Moroccan right-back inherits a ball alone in the Girona six-yard box. This time, it’s certain, Paris will score. Well no, Hakimi shoots at point-blank range at Gazzaniga.
Add to the already very salty bill the few chances of Randal Kolo Muani, who came on shortly before half-time, after Marco Asensio’s injury, and you have the display of all the Parisians’ clumsiness in this match. “It was a bit frustrating that the ball didn’t go in, we tried a lot, especially in the second half, analyzed Achraf Hakimi in the mixed zone. We remained patient.”
“It’s unfair to see problems where I don’t see any.”
Patience is the mother of virtue, but we still said to ourselves that with a real No. 9, Luis Enrique would not have “suffered” for so long, especially since the first half, much less prolific in chances (20 shots after the lemons), showed the glaring lack of such a player. Especially when several crosses arrived in the Catalan six-yard box and no player had the famous instinct of the scorer to come and cut the trajectory of the ball. Marco Asensio, aligned in a sort of false No. 9, waited for the ball lower down, while Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembelé tried to make differences on the wings.
Since the departure of Kylian Mbappé (around 35 goals per season), the two French internationals have picked up the torch, but they cannot fill, especially statistically, the absence of a real striker. In the French championship, it works (Luis Enrique also recalled that they had scored “six goals against Montpellier” and were “on an average of four goals per match), in the Champions League, it could darken the future of the capital club in the competition, especially in the knockout matches.
“Today we are at more than twenty shots against an opponent who defended very well, defended the former Barça coach. It’s football, a wonderful sport. Tonight, there was only one goal. It’s unfair to see problems where I don’t see any.” Problems perhaps not, but areas for improvement surely. Especially since Paris must already do without its real number 9 Gonçalo Ramos, victim of a “serious ligament sprain in his left ankle” and out for another two months, and will observe in detail the examinations carried out this Thursday by Marco Asensio, who “felt a sort of pinch” in his right thigh.
Put a Gyokeres in front and all is forgotten.
So, at the moment, only Randal Kolo Muani remains as a viable solution for this No. 9 position. Cruelly lacking in efficiency since his arrival in Paris, the former Nantais did not score against Girona, but did perform some classy moves, such as this superb oriented control in the middle of the area followed by a powerful shot that was a bit too crossed (82nd). It’s not much, but it’s something, you have to know how to be content with what you have. And, clearly, Luis Enrique is very satisfied.
“I am satisfied with the performance of all my players,” he assured in the mixed zone. Nevertheless, while Bayern have a Harry Kane who scored four goals, City have a sniper in Erling Haaland, Real Madrid have taken possession of Mbappé or Barça keep in Lewandowski a goal scorer who is always lethal, Paris is a little behind the competition at this level. So, we imagined all evening, with a PSG adept at the Portuguese market, a Viktor Gyokeres, the clinical Swede of Sporting, in the colours of the capital, and we started to dream bigger.
And then we opened our eyes. We will have to go to the Emirates on October 1st, still with a deficit in front. But that could strengthen Luis Enrique even more in his philosophy. The Gunners play up front with Kai Havertz, an attacking midfielder placed as a false 9. Finally, Marco Asensio, decisive man in the Champions League final, it is perhaps not so utopian as that.