L1: PSG falls short in Reims

After their last-minute victory over Girona in midweek for the first day of the Champions League, PSG were back in Ligue 1 with a trip to Reims. A big test for Luis Enrique’s team, which had to show a much better face than the one displayed during the European Cup match. For the occasion, the Spanish coach decided to rotate. Achraf Hakimi was absent from the group, Ousmane Dembélé and Fabian Ruiz were on the bench as was Nuno Mendes. As a result, the Parisians presented themselves with a hybrid formation with three defenders and Warren Zaire-Emery on the right flank. Beraldo took charge of the left side of the defense. Up front, without the injured Marco Asensio, it was Désiré Doué who took charge of playing in a false number 9 role with Kolo Muani on his right and Barcola on his left. On the Reims side, after two victories in a row, there was the possibility of pulling off a nice coup by taking down this Parisian team. And Luka Elsner relied on his Japanese duo Nakamura-Ito for this. And this duo quickly hurt the Parisian team which nevertheless monopolized the ball in the first moments. But on a counter well led by Ito, the winger sent a nice cross towards Nakamura who took it twice before deceiving Safonov (1-0, 9th). A cold shower for Paris which conceded a goal on the first opportunity for Reims.

Surprised, PSG had to respond and react quickly, but with this new tactical plan, they were unable to be dangerous. Désiré Doué multiplied the dropouts without really managing to make a difference. He was even clumsy in the last move. Same story for Bradley Barcola very (too) discreet on his left wing and not in his best day. This logically suited Reims who remained in their comfort zone and who defended rather well. Yehvann Diouf did not need to work hard except on a long-range attempt by Kang-in Lee then on a shot by Désiré Doué. After the locker room, PSG came back with the same intentions and we seemed to be heading towards a first hiccup in the championship this season. But Luis Enrique, to replace an injured Désiré Doué, brought on Ousmane Dembélé. The former Barça player, in form since the start of the season, only needed three minutes to equalise and score his 4th goal of the season (he has already surpassed his total from last season). He was on the receiving end of a fleeting cross from Joao Neves (1-1, 68th). Enough to offer a lively end to the match with a PSG team pushing to score this second goal. But despite a dangerous header from Dembélé, the Parisians could not find the fault and will have to settle for a draw. Reims takes a good point at home (but could have scored at the end of the match) and confirms that this PSG team, undefeated and leading L1 for the moment, still has problems to solve offensively.