PSG v. Lille

Very boring game lol. Lille are terrible attacking and PSG were a bit uninterested. The 1-0 is a good result given that PSG didn't play well.

Typically, Motta got hurt. No surprise there.

Other than PSG's defense, nothing of note to report. Sakho is really holding things down back there... he's unbeatable in the air.

Game was like the one vs Borduex, dull, dreary and not so attacking.

PSG in the 2nd half of the season is always tactically interesting to watch yet the general lack of initiative in attack is not the pressure Carlo needs at the moment.

Garcia's Lille is a far cry from what they were 2 seasons ago and while their manager and team still have the capability to threaten, their eventual collapse in the 2nd half of the game by resorting to hoof over PSG was testament to their downfall.

Jallet was very very impressive yesterday. While relatively untested during the course of the game, he continually found pockets of space to exploit by Motta's cross field passes down the right, something Jallet has been excellent in doing.

Sirigu didn't let anything past him and when he did, it was rightfully disallowed. One of the reasons PSG have such a brilliant defence.

Motta even before his injury was just poor as a whole as the yellow card for diving didn't exactly help. The game changed when Verrati came on as immediately PSG opened up through his excellent passes and the Calasian midfield couldn't get near him. Lucas had on a whole was frustrating as he dribbled into dangerous spaces which didn't make sense but as whole his understanding with Ibra proved to be interesting to watch along with one ridiculously delightful piece of skill. Pastore came on eventually for an ineffective Menez while Lucas moved wide with Pastore playing with Ibra. It was just what PSG needed as the chances were created more frequently while Lavezzi's dangerous cross wasn't enough to handle by Lille's CB which resulted as an own goal.

Ibra was unlucky to score especially when he brought down a ball from Sakho's cross field pass in which the touch displayed was fantastic, yet the shot was saved by Landreu.

As a whole not much to speak about the match as it was relatively dull.

What needs to be praised is how Ancelotti has gotten this team to have the 2nd best defence in all of Europe. Sakho and Thiago aside the defence is relatively weak and the gaps seemed to have been plugged. It helps that a very commanding and composed Sirigu is in between the sticks.

That reason alone will give PSG tremendous confidence coming into Europe.

If the team can sort out its finishing woes along with find the chemistry needed to create a higher percentage of chances, we can see a very potent team that can be a force to go far in the CL.

Matuidi does a lot of work in front of the defense... he clogs things up a lot. He's underrated because he's not flashy at all. But he's one of those guys that rarely allows anyone to go free against the CBs. One of the main reasons Arsenal and Chelsea fail so badly on defense btw... they have no good protection in the midfield.

sportsczy wrote:Matuidi does a lot of work in front of the defense... he clogs things up a lot. He's underrated because he's not flashy at all. But he's one of those guys that rarely allows anyone to go free against the CBs. One of the main reasons Arsenal and Chelsea fail so badly on defense btw... they have no good protection in the midfield.

Matudi is the unsung hero for PSG. Quite honestly, the man is a monster. He is the reason alone Verrati didn't have to focus on his defensive frailties as if anything, he alone is the man keeping the opposition midfield at bay. Just can run all day. He is like Flamini, but not useless.

I don't know about Chelsea since they have Mikel but I certainly agree about Arsenal. They need this kind of guy to assist Arteta within the midfield. Its a wonder how Wenger has not seen this yet. Someone like Diame would suffice.

Arquitecto wrote:Jallet was very very impressive yesterday. While relatively untested during the course of the game, he continually found pockets of space to exploit by Motta's cross field passes down the right, something Jallet has been excellent in doing.

Jallet is very good offensively speaking and compared to last year, he was sufficiently constant this season so far.Although, he isn't at the level of Sakho and Silva, I don't expect him to be replaced with another RB in the summer despite the rumours.He seems to be one of the most important pieces for PSG and the team needs him very much, because at 29 years old, he has the needed maturity to manage things in difficult moments.His capacity of effort is very high, fact which makes Ancelotti to give him both offensive and defensive tasks.

Arquitecto wrote:Sirigu didn't let anything past him and when he did, it was rightfully disallowed. One of the reasons PSG have such a brilliant defence.

Sirigu is a good goalkeeper and I like the fact that his communication with the defenders is very good, which makes him very solid, especially at set pieces.His positioning is tremendous.The NT of Italy can count on his services in future.

Arquitecto wrote:If the team can sort out its finishing woes along with find the chemistry needed to create a higher percentage of chances, we can see a very potent team that can be a force to go far in the CL.

This is the key: team chemistry...they have a very experienced coach with great tactical vision, they have both talented and experienced players but sometimes they lack imagination and creativity.From what I've seen, they give me the impression that they feel uncomfortable with each other.Although they have some brilliant players like Lavezzi, Menez, Ibrahimovic, Verratti, Lucas , they seem to be uncapable to destory the opponents and confirm the expectations of their fans.

Some people tend to say that it is Ancelotti's fault, but I remember when he won the EPL with Chelsea in 09-10, when his team scored over 100 goals only in Premier League.I guess it's only a matter of time until PSG will use their offensive high potential.Carlo has the necessary offensive knowledge to develop his team's capacity of scoring goals more easily.

Arquitecto wrote:

sportsczy wrote:Matuidi does a lot of work in front of the defense... he clogs things up a lot. He's underrated because he's not flashy at all. But he's one of those guys that rarely allows anyone to go free against the CBs. One of the main reasons Arsenal and Chelsea fail so badly on defense btw... they have no good protection in the midfield.

Matudi is the unsung hero for PSG. Quite honestly, the man is a monster. He is the reason alone Verrati didn't have to focus on his defensive frailties as if anything, he alone is the man keeping the opposition midfield at bay. Just can run all day. He is like Flamini, but not useless.

I don't know about Chelsea since they have Mikel but I certainly agree about Arsenal. They need this kind of guy to assist Arteta within the midfield. Its a wonder how Wenger has not seen this yet. Someone like Diame would suffice.

Well said.He is the player from PSG with the most tackles and most interceptions per game so far.His positioning in the field is worthy of a world class player.He is like a secondary protector layer for the CBs, which makes the whole defense almost impenetrable.

Later Edit:

PSG has a low percent of crosses and long balls per game but they are the first team in Ligue 1 when it comes about the percent of short passes per game.If you watch them carefully, you can easily realise that their game is based on 1 touch game and short passes, fact which leads me to think that Ancelotti wants to implement a similar style of some La Liga teams, a french Tiki-taka meant to lead the attacks in a higher speed than usual.Sincerely, the players movement and positioning looks very predictable and linear sometimes, but I am sure that Ancelotti is working to develop a tactic based on a free-form movement.

Most of PSG's goals in Ligue 1 came due to open play attacks and not set pieces or counter-attacks.There are far better teams in Ligue 1 at set pieces like Sochaux, Bastia or Lorient.

Psg are good at set pieces,but they are wihout Alex and silva

The thing with Ligue 1 is that i expect it to water down a lot until Euro 2016. A lot of stadiums are being built which cost money and the economy is iffy... so teams are saving all the money they can. Most of them want to be in the best position possible for when their new stadiums open.

Sound strategy... but it will hurt competitiveness in the short term. Need Monaco to get promoted and Lyon + Marseille to have their stadiums finish. That will give the league 4 rich teams that will keep a lot of local talent in Ligue 1. Right now, only PSG are aggressive.

I'll also add my piece about fullbacks... PSG are after Coentrao in the summer. That's the top target. I don't know why they wouldn't just get Aurier who is going to be a beast and is only 20. Doesn't have the name yet i guess.

Ganso wrote:Psg are good at set pieces,but they are wihout Alex and silva

Compared to other teams in Ligue 1, they aren't.

They are on the 13th place in a table ordered by the number of goals which came after set pieces.

vladdy wrote:

Ganso wrote:Psg are good at set pieces,but they are wihout Alex and silva

Compared to other teams in Ligue 1, they aren't.

They are on the 13th place in a table ordered by the number of goals which came after set pieces.

They're bad at set pieces with Sakho. He wasn't playing at certain points and Alex is just not that good of a defender. Silva is pretty good in the air, but not the greatest.

Silva-Sakho is the perfect partnership. One is masterful tactically, great with the ball and organizes the team. The other is a physical beast who brings physical impact and nastiness to the defense. I hope Carlo goes with this pairing. With Matuidi in front of them, i believe it is the best defensive central defense in Europe.

thought it was better to respond to this in here:

El Shaarawy wrote:Salvatore Sirigu has not conceded a goal in Ligue 1 in his last 686 minutes of play. Wall.

Thiagoat keeping the defense calm

Sirigu deserves the plaudits ... even without a GOAT like Thiago Silva in the last few matches, he's kept clean sheets ...

and I love that in all the transfer frenzy this match has been consigned to its rightful place: the 3-point oblivion ...