The statistics are very far from the standards which allowed Paris Saint-Germain to enter this Intercontinental Cup. Désiré Doué: 1 shot. Lee Kang-in: 1 shot. Khvicha Kvarastkhelia: 2 shots. Bradley Barcola: 1 shot. Ousmane Dembélé: 4 shots.
If Paris ended up winning at the end of the penalty shootout against Flamengo this Wednesday (1-1, 2-1 tab), it does not necessarily owe it to its offensive players. Two halves and one overtime were not enough for the Parisian attackers to total half of their team’s shots (9 out of 23 in total).
The pattern seems to repeat itself this season, over and over again. Faced with a PSG now known and expected as the white wolf, the opponents overplay with a very low and dense block when the ball approaches their 30 meters, and with aggressive pressing the rest of the time.
Gifted and Kvara often very low on the ground
A match appearance which is somewhat reminiscent of the last meeting of the Parisians against a Brazilian team… a defeat against Botafogo in the Club World Cup (1-0). Luis Enrique then praised “the team that defended the best against us this season”.
Flamengo, with great harshness in the duels (16 fouls but only 2 in its 30 meters, 6 yellow cards), followed this recipe to the gram, with particular attention paid to muzzle the Parisian offensive trident.
In the first period, it was in a role very close to the halfway line that we often saw Doué, Kvaratskhelia and Lee (then Mayulu) playing, leaving Mendes, Neves, Ruiz or Zaire-Emery free to venture towards the attack line. It is no coincidence that Neves (6 shots) was the most reckless Parisian of the evening, ahead of Dembélé (4) and Vitinha (3).
For the Parisian attackers, it was difficult to evolve in this hostile environment where each touch of the ball that approached the surface saw the pressure intensify with one or even two players immediately on the carrier.
Result: real gaps for the Parisians in this meeting, unable to find the solution. No strikes between the 12th and 30th minutes, only one between the restart and the 71st, only one during the first period of extra time…
First strike in the 78th for Doué, in the 117th for Barcola
The three players lined up from the start particularly paid the price: Doué (18 ball losses, only 2 dribbles out of 5 successful within the opponent’s 30m), Kvaratskelia (only 5 dribbles attempted) and Lee (21 touches of the ball), even Mayulu (19 touches, 6 ball losses), who replaced the Korean in the 35th minute to come out in the 64th.
Despite his superb pass for Kvaratskhelia’s opener, in one of the rare moments of respite given to him by Alex Sandro, Doué seemed particularly difficult to get into a shooting position. His first (and only) strike of the match comes… in the 78th minute, just before being replaced by Dembélé.
The entry into play of the Parisian No. 10 will have created a semblance of revolt, only dampened by the clumsiness of the Ballon d’Or in front of goal (one shot blocked, three missed then a shot on goal above). But neither Barcola (1 shot, in the 117th minute) nor Mbaye (no shots, 18 touches of the ball) were able to weigh more than their predecessors on Flamengo’s diligent defense. Far from their usual standards, the Parisians were able to rely, to win this intercontinental title, on their resilience… and on Matvey Safonov.
