A disappointing 2-2 draw against PFC Ludogorets Razgrad condemned Paris Saint-Germain to a second place finish in their UEFA Champions League group despite dominating for long stretches and recording 25 total shots.
It’s hard to name many positives from the debacle Tuesday night as the majority of the players underperformed and lacked concentration in key areas. Edinson Cavani, who has been red hot of late, had a relatively quiet game due to the poor service he received from the PSG midfield. Cavani’s off-the-ball movement and intelligent link-up play wasn’t rewarded enough and most of that can be blamed on the absence of Adrien Rabiot and Marco Verratti. The Uruguayan did eventually get his name on the scoresheet after a brilliant overhead kick from short range with tied the score at 1-1.
Unai Emery appears to be torn between using a 4-3-3 system or his tried-and-trusted 4-2-3-1, which worked well against Olympique Lyonnais and Angers SCO recently. Last night, the latter was used and didn’t work as well as the Spaniard would have hoped. To be aggressive offensively, the No. 10 role is crucial and Hatem Ben Arfa filled this role. He completed more successful dribbles than any other player in the Champions League this season and nearly got his name on the scoresheet but was denied by an excellent block. However, to be a great player at this level, it’s all about consistency and with more game time, you have to think the Frenchman will see more playing time in Emery’s preferred system.
The draw revealed many negatives about this current PSG squad. The defending for both Ludogorets goals was shocking to watch and must be a concern for Emery and his coaching staff. Both goals for the Bulgarian club came after a comedy of errors from the back line and they routinely found themselves in acres of space. Other than maybe Leicester City FC, there isn’t a club remaining in the Champions League that won’t punish PSG if they continue defending like this. If Les Parisiens hope to get past the quarterfinals, the defense—Marquinhos in particular—must clean up their mistakes.
Another area of concern for the reigning French champions is the lack of big-game players in the team. With Angel Di Maria, Lucas Moura, and Blaise Matuidi all starting last night, none of these key players took the game to Ludogorets to showcase their skills and willingness to do whatever it takes to win the match. Di Maria, in particular, looked lost for most of the game and didn’t make an impact other than a stoppage time goal that was a little too late to make a difference.
Lucas didn’t have the best night either and could have easily done well against a shaky Cicinho for Ludogorets but it wasn’t to be and his predictability became obvious and towards the end of the game, was substituted.
In the end, it was an awful display from Paris Saint-Germain. The main objective was to qualify from the group, which they have done, but it was important to finish first—not only to build confidence but to avoid playing a team like Barcelona in the Round of 16. The draw to see who PSG play takes place this Monday but Emery and his squad can’t look ahead quite yet. They welcome league leaders OGC Nice to the Parc des Princes and will want three points to stay within striking distance.
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Lead photograph by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images