Find out what pleased and displeased our special correspondents at the Parc des Princes during PSG’s defeat against Barça in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League (2-3).
Special envoys to the Parc des Princes
FAVORITES
A Parc des Princes for great evenings
Who says spring and tempting displays, often says warm and cheerful stands. Despite the anxiety-provoking climate linked to the fear of an attack, the public at the Parc des Princes responded. From the Auteuil Tribune with nice work from the CUP (Collectif Ultras Paris) and a lexical field borrowed from Star Wars, to the rest of the stadium which exploded on the goals of Dembélé and Vitinha before pushing at the end of the match, all the The ingredients were combined for a wonderful evening. Except for one detail – the most important – PSG was not at Champions League level. The Park, yes.
Read also PSG notes against Barça: Mbappé much too discreet, Donnarumma and Beraldo calamitous
Dembélé, the jewel
He has been criticized for years for his propensity to lack efficiency. Sometimes it’s legitimate. Often exaggerated. Wednesday evening, when he recovered a ball poorly cleared by the Catalan defense, fixed Frenkie de Jong and inflicted a kidney trick on him, before shooting Marc Andre Ter Stegen with a missile under the bar, Ousmane Dembele made his detractors lie. And capsize the evening into another dimension for a moment. Great art. For great men, great evenings. This goal, his second in Parisian colors, had the merit of waking up the Park and maintaining hope.
Vitinha, like a big one…once again
It’s no longer a novelty, but Vitinha is still gaining momentum. More discreet in the first period, the Portuguese midfielder showed the extent of his talent after the break, just in the restart, dangerous in front of goal, capable of putting his teammates into orbit and always well placed, “Viti” was the best Parisian on the pitch Wednesday evening. Simple and effective, like his goal, with finesse, on a beautiful serve from Fabian Ruiz.
Also read: “We will go to Barcelona to win, we are capable of it”: Luis Enrique wants to believe in PSG’s “comeback”
Lewandowski, le poison
Robert Lewandowski did not score. He did not deliver an assist. In fact, he only had two shots on goal, including a shot on target… which would have ended up in the net had it not been for a miraculous save from Nuno Mendes. 51 balls touched. Looking only at the statistics, we could say that the former Munich player missed his match, that he did not weigh in on the debates. All false. Lewandowski has proven to be excessively valuable for FC Barcelona. A new one, a real one. He weighed on the defense and gave Lucas Beraldo a real nightmare, whom he so often sucked in to create the gaps. In the first half, Barcelona didn’t bother building too much: they targeted him, trying to hit him as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he would go back down to the middle to create the surplus. Paris contained it better in the second half, with Marquinhos realigned. Robert Lewandowski, however, had a full match. And full of class.
CLAW STRIKES
Mbappé, a shadow in the night
The Park was waiting for him. To roar with pleasure and break the Catalans. He’s still waiting for her. Without ideas, even less genius, with a questionable physique, the 2018 world champion missed his match. In great widths. It almost never made a difference, with significant waste and game intentions that were far too clear. He owes a rematch on Tuesday evening in Barcelona. Otherwise, his adventure at PSG will leave a bitter taste on the continental scene.
Luis Enrique is “Kinder surprise”
Daniel Riolo is not a lifelong fan of Luis Enrique, it’s no secret. Our radio colleague RMC never misses an opportunity to pay the PSG coach, “Geo Trouvetou» as he nicknames him in reference to his tactical inventions and his choices of players. Often harsh comments, bordering on unfair, knowing that the Spanish technician had performed almost flawlessly until then. In view of the mysterious decisions of “Lucho” on Wednesday, Riolo nevertheless found a new nickname for him: “Kinder surprise“. Difficult to prove him wrong this time… Dominated by Xavi, Luis Enrique surprised everyone by starting Marco Asensio instead of Bradley Barcola, Randal Kolo Muani or Gonçalo Ramos. A failure. He chose Kang-in Lee to complete the middle trio, doing without the services of Warren Zaire-Emery. A failure. He entrusted the axis of defense to the Hernandez/Beraldo duo, with Marquinhos on the right to compensate for the absence of Achraf Hakimi, suspended. A failure. Certainly, the former Barça coach raised the bar at the break. And there was little he could do to prevent the bankruptcy of Gigio Donnarumma, Lucas Beraldo and Kylian Mbappé. Nevertheless, he was wrong, he failed on Wednesday evening.
Also read “Everything is open”: “frustrated” by the defeat during PSG-Barça but “proud” of his record, Marquinhos still believes in it
Feverish Paris
Tactically dominated, PSG never managed to prevent Barça from finding space behind the defenders. “They put us in difficulty with this change of timing, playing forward and controlling the game in midfield. This was our main problem today. We were a little open, and when that was the case, they played directly on (Robert) Lewandowski. And when we were a little behind, when we let this player wander a little in the middle, they played short and were superior in the middle. That’s why it was difficult to defend», Analyzes Marquinhos. It was better at this level after the rest. But there were always these spaces behind the defense. The second Catalan goal arrives like this. And the corner that resulted in the third, too. “It came down to small details. Unfortunately, it went the other way…,” complains Lucas Hernandez. It was more than details that made the difference. It’s a real excitement.
