OL – PSG: Paulo Fonseca completely missed his tactical bet

Not everyone is Luis Enrique. Paulo Fonseca made the hard time this Sunday against Paris Saint-Germain. While his Spanish counterpart has been completely flourishing for several weeks with a system where Ousmane Dembélé has fun as a false number 9, the Portuguese coach tried to adapt this tactic against the club of the capital by trying to align Rayan Cherki in this unusual position for the 21 -year -old prodigy. But mimicry ended very badly. Soporific for more than an hour, the Gones have not emerged offensively in the face of superior Parisians both technically and tactically.

In recent weeks, the former coach of Lille and AC Milan has also made some strong choices that persist over time. And who were not paid at all on Sunday. Indeed, with the enthronement of the double pivot made up of Tanner Tessmann and Nemanja Matic, OL loses strongly in mobility in the midfield. Even if the two players have the physical capacities and the interception qualities to scratch a few balloons, their slowness will have been really detrimental in the face of a much more mobile and oiled Paris environment. We can also evoke the right wing with a tandem Ernest Nuamah-Saël Kumbedi which will have been in trouble Sunday evening. When the first city did not bring any real danger to Nuno Mendes, the second was in great suffering in the face of a Bradley Barcola who often abused him.

The choice of false number 9 assumed by Paulo Fonseca

But now, the main grievance retained by Rhodanian supporters and observers with regard to Paulo Fonseca will have been his choice to present himself this Sunday with a system without real scorer. A lack that was felt with a simply non -existent fixing point with a Rayan Cherki who finally evolved in his usual playmaker register. Without Alexandre Lacazette and Georges Mikautadze, OL felt the absence of An essential piece in his game. However, Paulo Fonseca simply explained that he had prepared his match well and that he assumes this daring tactical choice: “We had prepared the match well, and PSG did what we expected, we had a defensive strategy that worked well. We simply have to progress in our ball outings, because we have made too many balls. If we had a center-forward, it would have been the same thing, because we were forced to play long and the balloons did not arrive in front. ”

However, with the entrance to the two OL scorers, the Gones' face was completely different. Much more oiled offensively, the Gones were able to count on the shattering entry of the Georgian in the 80th minute of play. Inspired, he multiplied the dangerous calls and it is he who serves a caviar for the reduction of the gap of the gap Rayan Cherki (83rd) after a superb hook on Marquinhos. Close to reducing the brand on a sensational acrobatic return (89th), it was he who touched Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the right side for the goal of Tolisso in additional time (90+2nd). However, despite this clear change with an impressive number of opportunities with the entry of the old of Metz and that of Lacazette, Paulo Fonseca did not wish to justify these choices and preferred to salute the performance of his entrants: “I am happy with the players who entered, we were very dangerous at that time. I had spoken with Georges and he understood what we wanted to do. The most important thing for me is that he has shown himself in very good dispositions when he entered. ”

But now, given the face displayed by his team at the end of the match, the former AC Milan tactician can have real regrets as his daring tactical strategy will have seriously tried the performance of his team. At least he will know that his team absolutely needs a advanced attacker to provide a consistent offensive service. OL supporters will not give him a second chance. Thiago Almada will also have to be adjusted. Recruited this winter, the Argentinian seems to have qualities that should allow him to be a credible candidate for a start. However, the grandiose performances of Corentin Tolisso in a more advanced position seem to thwart the plans of the 2022 world champion. Led to settle in the future in a role of number 10, the former Atlanta United must therefore have to Radifying your brake despite several interesting entries, like that facing PSG where the pocket leader will have made his good technical quality speak. His salvation could come from the technical gaps displayed by Tanner Tessmann in the midfield and which could lead Paulo Fonseca to descend Corentin Tolisso in the double pivot with Nemanja Matic in order to induct Thiago Almada in this role of playmaker. Unless the Portuguese does not decide to renew a Malick Fofana-Rayan Cherki-Ernest trio Nuamah in support of a number 9. In short, there are many tactical sites for Fonseca which no longer has time or the right to make the edge of an end of the season which promises to be burning between Rhône and Saône.