At the Parc des Princes,
Basically, the apostles of the result are a little right. When the weather works, it rarely leaves more than a score. 2-1 for PSG against Lille, ah, yes, very good, a Parisian victory among many others, either. In five or ten years, nobody will say, by stumbling across the scoresheet, that Losc outrageously dominated the first period, that Jonathan Ikoné walked around his lane or that Renato Sanches put on his most beautiful costume to flambé in Paname. Unless you have a very good memory, there will remain three names, all from Paris. Marquinhos, Neymar and Di Maria.
But before the time of forgetting comes that of the observation. Paris once again started the game badly, an analysis which the Parisian captain and striker cannot escape, a little frustrated despite the victory. “It was hard at the start, blows the Brazilian. They hurt us on the counterattack, we lost a lot of balls in midfield and we weren’t vigilant behind. We were a little late in our placement, late in rushing them. The initial 4-3-3 without idea, flavor or direction quickly disintegrated under the effect of the rapid transitions of the players of Gourvennec. “The feeling we had in the first half was that we got into trouble with each ball we lost,” Pochettino analyzed after the match. Given the number of balls lost by the ghost of Neymar and the lookalike of Lionel Messi, released at the break as a precaution, we let you imagine the Parisian galley in the first period.
Is 3-4-3 the solution?
Note also that the indigestible Parisian phase extended beyond the first half, and this is somewhere what is most cruel to dominate this Paris. Lille were dangerous for a longer period (around an hour), but PSG managed to do more and better in half the time. Certainly, the Losc allowed his opponent to overthrow him by missing the coup de grace twice around the 50th minute, but let us recognize in the latter a certain abnegation. Leonardo, passing through the mixed zone. “We minimize our faults through great willpower, because winning against Lille, which had a great match, is not easy. Either you have something, or you lose. And there you won. “
A victory that PSG owes to two changes. The first, the entry of Icardi, immediately weighed on the Lille hinge, freeing up more space for Neymar and Di Maria, the last “game changers” alive at this time of the meeting. The second, the passage to 3-4-3 with the entries of Colin Dagba and especially Nuno Mendes, considerably accelerated the game of PSG, refocused “NeyMaria” in an area where their creativity would pose more concerns to the opponent, and allowed Marquinhos to venture a little higher with the passage of Danilo in third axial defender.
Angel Di Maria ???????? on @PVSportFR : “The transition to 3-4-3? It’s good for the players we have. After that it’s the coach who has to choose. We had bad times, we suffered. We also have to attack, so it creates work for the lane players. “
– Hadrien Grenier (@hadrien_grenier) October 29, 2021
The scheme seems so suited to Pochettino’s workforce that it is hard to understand why he only uses it as a last resort. All the more so as he himself admits, “against Lille, [le plan de départ] did not work initially, it is my responsibility. »Curious, all that.
Eight points saved on the buzzer
The effects of 3-4-3 are immediate and without side effects: Di Maria and Neymar connect the cakes for Mauro Icardi, who will have to be forgiven by his two teammates for his missed opportunities as he was able to obtain forgiveness from Wanda , and Marquinhos equalizes with a not hyper academic kick. The rest was predictable. In front of a bubbling Auteuil bend, Paris pushes, Ney expresses his creative madness through the pass and Fideo concludes the bazaar by spinning in the passage with a new headache in Pochettino. It will indeed be necessary to find on the ground a place for this formidable player yet predestined to heat the bench with each new arrival.
In the end, Paris seals its fourth success in the 90th or almost, after victories at the buzzer against Angers, Lyon and Metz. If we do the math, it is therefore eight points narrowly saved. Not insignificant when we know that Lens, second in Ligue 1, temporarily points to ten points. So close and so far at the same time.
