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2 weeks ago
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Paris Saint-Germain simply had no choice this Wednesday evening. After a defeat at Arsenal, a draw against PSV Eindhoven and a meager victory against Girona, Luis Enrique’s players had to produce a perfect performance at home against Atlético de Madrid, during the 4th day of the League of Nations. Champions. At the Parc des Princes, the Spanish coach brought out the heavy artillery: return of Gianluigi Donnarumma in the cages with a classic defense made up of Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, Willian Pacho and Achraf Hakimi, a midfielder filled with the talents of Warren Zaire-Emery , Vitinha and João Neves, while we found Marco Asensio in false nine surrounded by Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé. However, despite a very interesting start to the match and a clear domination, PSG, who opened the scoring with a goal from Zaire Emery, fell in the final moments of the match (1-2). This is PSG’s first home defeat in the Champions League group/championship stage since December 7, 2004 against CSKA Moscow.
Despite 22 shots in total, the Parisians were, as usual, unable to lock in victory. But worse still, the Colchoneros took the opportunity to achieve the perfect holdup with the winning goal signed Ángel Correa. Moreover, the Capital club lost a C1 match on a goal scored from the 90th minute of play for the third time after April 5, 1995 against AC Milan and September 18, 2018 against Liverpool. : “There are no words. I believe in our 3 home matches, we were infinitely superior to our rivals but we don’t have the luck with us. Tomorrow, we will get up, there are 4 matches left and as long as there are matches, we will fight. I’ve been in football for 30 years, and I can’t explain that. You have to see the match but the result is totally unfair”first hammered the Spanish coach. The more the weeks pass, the more it is a lost and clueless Luis Enrique who comes to a press conference to analyze PSG’s offensive problems.
Luis Enrique lost in the face of sad reality
Luis Enrique lost 44% of his matches on the bench with PSG in the Champions League (7/16), the highest defeat ratio for a coach of the Parisian club in the competition under QSI. The Rouge et Bleu also lost 5 matches in the same calendar year in the European Cup for the first time in its history. With 4 points taken in 4 games, this start to the campaign also represents the club’s worst start to the Champions League since the arrival of Qatar: “I would have to watch this match again to analyze it in depth. It’s inexplicable what happened to us in the three home matches. The word that best defines them is inexplicable and unfair. Today is a shit day», tried to justify Luis Enrique at a press conference after this new European disappointment. But then where does the problem of this inefficiency come from? Because the weeks after each other are the same. In the Champions League, PSG average 21 shots attempted per match, the second highest rate in the competition – for just two goals scored in the game (three counting Paulo Gazzaniga’s CSC in Girona).
While he persists in aligning Kang-in Lee or Marco Asensio at the forefront of his attack in a flexible role of false 9, Luis Enrique still wants to believe in his playing system despite the presence of Randal Kolo Muani or the return to come from Gonçalo Ramos: “Where do I get this attacker from? I am true to my ideas. The day I fail, it will be with my ideas. I will continue to follow my ideas. I’m on the right path, in an incredible series. To tell the truth, the team is responsible for creating 50 scoring chances and the coach is responsible for everything. I take responsibility for everything. I will do my best to ensure that the team continues to create chances. It’s very difficult to explain this series. It sounds like a bad joke. I feel very bad. Like the players, you will have to analyze with a cool head and bounce back. We need 20 chances, the opponent sneezes and scores. We must get up and try», continued the tactician native of Gijon. Back to action tomorrow with very important weeks looming for Paris Saint-Germain in order to, like last season, painfully hold on to the essential, namely a ticket for the following rounds.
