Arras Football v Paris Saint Germain Post Match Discussion Thread

[Arquitecto]

Quite one of the best matches in PSG's seasons for the neutral. Here was the line-up:

Name
G
1 Nicolas Douchez
D
3 Mamadou Sakho
D
5 Scherer Andrade Maxwell
M 14 Adrien Rabiot
D
6 Zoumana Camara
M
2 Christophe Jallet
M
4 Marco Verratti
M
7 Clement Chantome
M
8 Blaise Matuidi
M 12 Mathieu Bodmer
F
9 Kevin Gameiro
F
10 Javier Pastore
F
11 Ezequiel Lavezzi
F 17 Hervin Ongenda

SUBSTITUTES
POS No Name
G 18 Alphonse Areola
D 13 Alvin Arrondel
D 15 Diego Lugano
D 16 Jordan Ikoko
M 12 Mathieu Bodmer
M 14 Adrien Rabiot
F 17 Hervin Ongenda
SUBSTITUTIONS
MINS. Substitutions
72' Sylvain Willot for Valentin Lamiaux
76' Ebenezer Briand for Jonathan Saint-Pol
88' Mehdi Moussaoui for Sebastien Bernard
SUBSTITUTIONS
MINS. Substitutions
24' Mathieu Bodmer for Blaise Matuidi
72' Adrien Rabiot for Scherer Andrade Maxwell
81' Hervin Ongenda for Ezequiel Lavezzi


It was a game where PSG played a 4-4-1-1- with Matudi pairing up with Marco Verrati. Chamtome on the wing, Lavezzi on the left opposite and Pastore supporting an impressive Gamiero.

Not much to say aside from the fact that the defence as absolutely horrible. Douchez has shown how important Sirigu's command and composure is. Sakho has although commanding the back line well had a horrorshow along with the incredibly slow Camara who didn't help. Jallet had one of those Jallet rape-fests where he was constantly bypassed despite offering much in attack while Maxwell just frustrating in his decision making during the final balls.

Verrati started off slow and looked destitute of his usual confidence but grow excellent into the game while eventually dictating the pace, making superb passing to the wing and keep close control of the ball vs the tenacious Arras midfield. It helped that Matudi formed a formidable partnership to protect him and was everywhere for PSG. Chantome typically worked hard but was relatively ineffective in the wing while Lavezzi was the star of the show in not only scoring 2 class goals, but absolutely destroying the Artoisian defence left right and centre. It was a joy to watch him. Pastore was the flop of the match and not even getting the simplest things right. Worse was him not even rectifying his mistakes to work his ass off much to the frustration of Gamiero who showed intelligent positioning, movement and work ethic but was unlucky not to score.

Eventually Maxwell came off as we then saw Carlo switch to a 3 man backline in which Sakho strangely looked comfortable in taking a sweeper role to move up in the midfield while Rabiot replaced Maxwell. Rabiot who I hype to hell went wide and made more impact then Pastore did in the entire 90 minutes.

I'd like a special mention for Arras. While PSG's defence was awful Arras deserve a lot of credit for their never-say-die attitude and excellent moments of play. They also showed an excellent atmosphere and sportsmanship from the fans and players respectively. They have my respect. Such fight is expected from these French provinciale sides.

Wonderful match.

MOTM? Lavezzi and Verrati.

Flop? Pastore.

[Ganso]

Verrati was amazing.The defense was terribad.The attack was okish,missed too many chances and I feel everyone looks kind of lost without ibra being the focal point

[sportsczy]

Nothing to take away from this match since it was against a 4th division team. Just some comments:
- Sakho was holding back. He has to play with physical impact. Since these guys were amateurs, you never saw him bring it because he probably didn't want to hurt anyone lol. I don't think he even attempted a tackle.
- Pastore thinks he's a juggler at a circus. I'm tired of him. He needs to play simple and do things right. Another maddening performance because he, again, showed a few flashes of greatness.
- Verrati started horribly and then played well in the second half. His issue is that he becomes too greedy with his close control instead of just getting rid of the ball in tight situations in bad areas. He needs to figure the risk/reward of trying certain things. When he gets that, lights out.
- Camara and Bodmer are too slow for PSG
- Jallet and Maxwell take too many risks on the attack and leave the defense exposed
- Lavezzi, Gameiro and Matuidi are all class

[Sponsored content]