Paris Saint-Germain’s coaching staff sure was keeping an eye on the squad’s fitness level during its recent friendly fixture against Le Havre. PSG had not played in a fixture in four months due to the coronavirus shutdown and for many of the club’s players, this was the longest drought with no competitive action in years.
PSG passed this test with flying colors. The Ligue 1 side played with high intensity throughout the contest, and it sure made one feel as if it was a regular league fixture. More importantly, PSG came away from its 9-0 win on the day with no notable injuries.
This all impressed Le Havre physical trainer Olivier Rodriguez. Following the friendly match, Rodriguez spoke (via Le Parisien) about not only his sheer amazement from PSG’s barrage of goals but also about the fitness and physicality of a few players.
“It’s one thing to have a contrast between the two teams, but it’s another to have such an impressive result,” Rodriguez said. “We all know that Mbappe goes fast or that Kimpembe is strong in duels. But in this case, even the smaller players, like [Ander] Herrera and [Leandro] Paredes, have shown a high physical density.”
One of the biggest talking points heading into the match revolved around whether PSG would be game-ready after such a long break in action. PSG was more than ready for in-game action, which seems to suggest that the team went above and beyond to stay fit during the shutdown. Rodriguez believes PSG took an extra step to do just that.
“For a first match, I think this team has already put together something spectacular,” Rodriguez said. “During the confinement, the players from the regular teams had a program to talk to each other. They probably followed a pre-performance program.”
With weekly training sessions and multiple fixtures scheduled for the rest of this month, PSG should be more than ready to go for its UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 fixtures next month.
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