Even though Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) scored three goals, he left the midfield problem as a homework.
PSG beat Lance 3-1 in the third round of the French Ligue 1 in the 2023-24 season at Parc de Frans in Paris, France, at 4 a.m. on the 27th (Korea Standard Time). This marked PSG’s first win of the season.
PSG pulled out a 4-3-3 formation. Kylian Mbappe, Marco Asensio and Usman Dembele formed the top three. The midfield was joined by Vitina, Manuel Ugarte and Warren Zaire Emery, while Luca Hernandez, Milan Shkriniar, Marquignos and Ashraf Hakimi formed defense. Gianluigi Donnarumma wore goalkeeper gloves.
PSG took the lead, but PSG continued to struggle with Lance’s organized counterattack. Lance put strong forward pressure and interrupted PSG’s rear build-up. In the PSG’s goal kick situation, as many as six players were pressing ahead.
Rather, as time went by, PSG’s line went down, and only counterattack-oriented plays came out. The attack was all that relied on Mbappe and Dembele, located on the left and right sides. There was a clear difference from Lance, who plays as a team.
The support of PSG midfield players was disappointing. Bitinya did not have an advantage as she played wide to the left to fill the spot where Mbappe moved to the center. Jair Emery continued to give up possession of the ball as a rather disappointing ball guard, and Ugarte’s pass was not challenging.
In this situation, only one play using the midfield came out. This immediately led to PSG’s first goal. In the 45th minute of the first half, Vitina dribbled the ball from the midfield and entered the penalty box and sent a pass. The ball went through Zaire Emery and connected to Asensio, who finished with a clean left-footed shot. It was a pleasant score for PSG, which lacked team play throughout the first half.
In the second half, Mbappe’s personal skills shone. With Mbappe’s multi-goal in the 6th minute of the second half and 45th minute of the second half, PSG decided the game. Although he lost one goal in extra time in the second half, he won 3-1 to achieve his first win of the season.
Despite his first win, manager Luis Enrique would have had a hard time laughing broadly. This is because the midfield problem stood out again on this day. If you look at the pass map released by the soccer statistics media “markstats,” you can see that PSG rarely uses the midfield. It is mainly playing soccer depending on the left and right sides, and it showed the so-called “U-shaped build-up.”
In the end, it means that Vitina and Zaire Emery, who started the day, did not have much influence. As the season progresses, it is a task that coach Enrique has to solve. PSG has had a lot of regrets in the midfield since last season. If Marco Verati did not play, the ball guard was not properly guarded. With Verati likely to leave the team this season, there are no players to add influence to the midfield so far.
Lee Kang-in could be the solution. Lee Kang-in has already proved his value as a central midfielder for Valencia, Mallorca and the South Korean national soccer team. He is a midfielder who can carry the ball directly from the ball guard.
He was injured the moment the team needed him, causing regret. PSG said on the club’s website on the 23rd, “Tuesday’s medical update will be focused on Lee Kang-in. He was injured in his left thigh quadriceps and will be treated at least until the end of the A-match break,” he officially announced. If Lee Kang-in returns to the team, he can expect to play in the midfield. 토토사이트