FC Girondins de Bordeaux-Paris Saint Germain Full Time 1-0 Zlatan

The match started off with a minutes silence for PSG nutritionist Paul Broad who passed away in a tragic car accident. Carlo Ancelotti was genuinely in tears during the silence while reflecting on his death as it was touching for a manager who has been here for less then a year so effected by the tragedy of a fellow staff member. Throughout the game he remained even more sombre than usual.

As for the game if I wasn't watching Roma-Inter I would have fallen asleep. Carlo played a rather functional set up with the team play a deep line in the absence of captain Thiago Silva with Sakho and Camara as the CB line.

Not much to speak about as Bordeux troubled on the counter attacking making use of PSG's defensively error-prone fullbacks as the few times the back line looked shaky it was nullified by Camara and Sakho, the latter in particular having a strong showing in proving why he should start regularly.

Aside from that Matudi has a solid showing with playmaker Marco Verrati having an excellent game in the absence of Thiago Motta as the understanding between Matudi and Verrati was vital for PSG's midfield battle today. Veratti was naive at times yet has a near masterclass game in his range of passing whether left foot or right as its clear his confidence is on the rise once again.

Menez was subdued by the Bordeux fullback but made use of it by drifting inside and combining with Zlatan while Lucas who as predicted played off and behind Ibra had an impressive showing with excellent runs, work-rate and creativity. In other words, everything that now ostracised Javier Pastore never shows. He was later subbed off form Chantome who utilized his ability to stabilize the midfield when needed.

On the left Lavezzi as well didn't have his usual spectacular showings but made up for it with some excellent creativity and vision to create several chances for PSG which was scuffed by Gironde defence.

Aside from that then there was Ibra who proved to be PSG's winning man creatively and with his goals as despite a few off touches and chances missed, he was at the heart of everything in his #10 role justifying why the number on his back (after Nene's departure) is fit only for him.

A solid if not unspectacular showing by PSG who tactically were spot on with a narrow midfield and foraying fullbacks but need to finish the created chances if they will overtake Lyon who they have tied on 42 points with this game. Now on the summit along with Lyon, PSG will have a tough game next week vs Alain Casanova's Toulouse.

MOTM? Close call between Verrati, Matudi and Ibrahimovic for me.

I thought Lucas didn't work as hard as he usually does today but still good performance and assist.Veratti didnt defend well and the defense was a mess.I think Jallet is a very limited player.

but we have to give some recognition to Bordeaux,they defended very well and left close to no space for Lucas and Lavezzi

Ot,but Valencia lost 5-0 to Madrid.I expect PSG to reach the quarter finals in CL with no scares

Very good road performance. PSG has only won in Bordeaux 3 times since the 80s lol. Extremely tough place to play. Very defensive tactics and the CB partnership was steller, even Camara lol. Matuidi covered very well for the defense too.

Professional performance by PSG. A win is a win on the road. Style points are only relevant at home imo.

Ganso wrote:I thought Lucas didn't work as hard as he usually does today but still good performance and assist.Veratti didnt defend well and the defense was a mess.I think Jallet is a very limited player.

but we have to give some recognition to Bordeaux,they defended very well and left close to no space for Lucas and Lavezzi

Ot,but Valencia lost 5-0 to Madrid.I expect PSG to reach the quarter finals in CL with no scares

Well Lucas was more intelligent in conserving his energy as this was a game required for him to press harder than usual along with tracking for Borduex's counters. His last performance was effort yet took a lot of energy out of him.

Verrati didn't defend well but his passing was immaculate especially one pass chipped over to Menez which was sublime. His defensive positioning ic correct but doesn't have the physique or tackling to perform such a thing.

Jallet? He is indeed limited with his defence, crosses and overall play. What he does do well is be resourceful and optimize on the few things that he does do well.

Bordeux are a fantastic team as I expected this one to draw as they gave Paris quite a hard time.

Valencia under Valverde are even worse then Pocchetino. They obviously won't be as bad within the CL but PSG have to win this without excuse.

sportsczy wrote:Very good road performance. PSG has only won in Bordeaux 3 times since the 80s lol. Extremely tough place to play. Very defensive tactics and the CB partnership was steller, even Camara lol. Matuidi covered very well for the defense too.

Professional performance by PSG. A win is a win on the road. Style points are only relevant at home imo.

Agreed.

It was functional, dull, conservative but Carlo got his tactics right where and when he needed and overall it was a very organized and disciplined performance. Style can come later once team chemistry is augmented.

great opening post, Arq ... seeing the Verratti compliments was especially pleasing ... not many would expect Pirlo as a DLP (deep lying playmaker) to carry much of defensive workload, and I think the same should be expected of Verratti ...

I've watched Zlatan not carry his from the first half of the season into the period after Christmas a few times in his career ... so it was good to see him notch his first goal of the year -- the match winner, no less ...

Matuidi continues to be awesome ... impossible not to like him ...

Xifio wrote:great opening post, Arq ... seeing the Verratti compliments was especially pleasing ... not many would expect Pirlo as a DLP (deep lying playmaker) to carry much of defensive workload, and I think the same should be expected of Verratti ...

I've watched Zlatan not carry his from the first half of the season into the period after Christmas a few times in his career ... so it was good to see him notch his first goal of the year -- the match winner, no less ...

Matuidi continues to be awesome ... impossible not to like him ...

Thanks Xiflo

Verrati always has comparisons to Pirlo but the fact is he is far closer to Xavi then Pirlo. Dribbles, passes and shields the ball the same way and even uses the same passing channels to move into. He will need to defensively track back since Matudi isn't a one man midfield but it comes down to how mediocre the fullbacks really are which is why he is asked for a defensive workload alongside him play making.

When Motta comes back he should be tried in his original Trequartista role which he excelled at and would certainly be better than Pastore.

Good thing about Zlatan is that he even when he faces those rare patches without goals he continues to influence teams by his creativity and ability to dominate the opposition. Been absolutely magnificent.

Matudi? Agreed as he sacrifices so much of his own energy for the team as his play requires tremendous endurance. Even has been adding a couple of goals here and there this season.