Stade de Reims – PSG: match notes

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 wins 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 that. And this duo quickly hurt the Parisian team who were nevertheless monopolizing the ball in the early moments. But on a well-led counterattack by Ito, the winger sent a nice cross to Nakamura who took it twice before beating Safonov (1-0, 9th). A cold shower for Paris who conceded a goal on Reims’ first chance.

Dembélé scores from the moment he comes on

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 exert himself except on a long-range attempt by Kang-in Lee then on a shot by Désiré Doué.

After the break, PSG came back with the same intentions and it seemed like they were heading towards their first hiccup in the league 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 3 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 evasive 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

Man of the match: Neves (7.5): a lot of activity for the Portuguese, often found by his teammates (126 balls touched). The former Benfica Lisbon player was also active in recovering the ball, despite the few duels won (six out of 13 played). On the equalizer of PSG, he found himself on the left side and distilled a tricky center which will be taken up by Dembélé (68th).

Reims Stadium

– Diouf (6): The Reims goalkeeper was able to prove decisive in the first half. First, in the 21st minute, Diouf made a very good save on the ground from a quick, dry shot from Kang In Lee in the box. He then managed to grab a well-taken Parisian corner. The goalkeeper also saved a heavy shot on target from Doué who had eliminated three of his defenders (34th). The only downside of his first half was his exit from Doué (32nd). In the second half, he could do nothing about Dembele’s goal (68th), who appeared at the far post to tap the ball into the back of the net.

– Kipré (5): Like his central defense teammate, Agbadou, he was quite solid in the first half. He managed to stay on course during the second half of the match despite the more significant attacks from Luis Enrique’s players.

– Buta (4): A rather average match for Buta tonight. He finished the match with only two duels won and no interceptions in the first half. The defender was however a little more lively at the restart, where he managed to hold off a rather virulent Nuno Mendes after his entry after the hour mark.

– Akieme (5): First period correct for Akieme, who will not have had much work. In the 24th minute of play, he is solid on his supports and moves Kang In Lee well on a header. Second period, a little tougher for the Reims defender, who will be too late on Dembele’s goal (66th), where he will let the Frenchman go behind him.

– Agbadou © (5.5): Solid in the first half, Agbadou closed the door to many Parisian attacks. In the 16th minute of play, he clearly cuts a Parisian counterattack from Kolo Muani with the tip of his foot and saves his team from a potentially dangerous one-on-one. Same thing again a little before half-time when the defender manages to clear a dangerous ball from his area again.

– Fofana (5): A fairly simple match for Fofana who was unable to impose himself in the Reims midfield. Replaced by Nhoa Sangui (66th), a much more defensive profile for the end of the match. The player will miss a nice match ball at the end of the game (96th)

– Munetsi (4): Little seen in the first half, Yaya Fofana was often in the shadow of Nakamura, twirling this evening, also posted on the left side. The midfielder will not make any crosses this evening, and only 1 deep pass, which ultimately will not come to anything.

– Atangana (6.5): lined up from the start, the young midfielder Valentin Atangana (19 years old) had a pretty good match. A real sentinel, the player recovered around ten balls in midfield and won 11 key duels in his playing area. He was also pretty good in the recovery, with 9 successful passes out of 11. A reading of the game also effective. A good copy for the Reims player. Replaced by Teddy Teuma in the 77th minute, who will have a good end to the match.

– Ito (7): Author of a start to the season that lived up to his talent (one goal and one assist in 4 games), Junya Ito will be at the origin of the goal of his compatriot Nakamura (9th), but the assist will not be attributed to him. Always intelligent in his vision of the game, he manages to find his teammates in the area on several rather successful crosses. At the half-hour mark, Ito drops back on the right and releases a superb, very applied cross into the opponent’s area. Unfortunately, Diakité hits the goalkeeper who gets the foul (29th). Shortly before half-time, the striker manages to escape a slew of Parisians (36th) but is stopped by Pacho, who holds him back and commits a foul. A good match overall from the former Kashiwa Reysol player.

– Nakamura (6.5): In good form since the match against Nantes last week, with a precious goal, Nakamura repeats and scores his 2nd goal of the season today against Paris. Always very lively and energetic in his game, the Japanese player eliminates another Parisian and goes alone on his side (13th). His action will not succeed. Generous in defensive retreats, he notably succeeds in clearing a dangerous ball from PSG in his area (30th). A second half a little more will have been a little more complicated for the player, finally replaced by Amine Salama (77th).

– Diakite (5.5): Author of a good pressure on the Parisian restarts during the first quarter of an hour of play, Oumar Diakité will be a little more in the hard at the end of the half. He nevertheless manages to be threatening on two occasions (19th, 30th) without managing to find shooting positions. Too rough in one of his duels, he does not manage to take the superb cross from Ito (29th) and hits the Parisian goalkeeper who gets the foul. Replaced by Reda Khadra (78th).

Paris Saint-Germain

– Safonov (5): Beaten by Nakamura in the first ten minutes of the match, even though he touched the ball, the Russian was not put in more danger than that in the first half. In the second half, Emnnauel Agbadou’s powerful strike went to the left of his goal (59th).

– Zaire-Emery (5): If in the possession phase, he is in midfield, the French international repositioned himself at the right-back position when the Reims had the ball. He had difficulty repositioning himself on the few times that Reims recovered the ball and proceeded on the counter. Otherwise, he was good in recovering the ball (four balls recovered).

– Marquinhos © (5.5) The Parisian captain missed his intervention on Nakamura for the opening goal (9th). For the rest, he was fair in his interventions against the Rémois and solid in the physical domain by winning all his duels.

– Pacho (6): Less solid than in his previous outings, the Ecuadorian still assured in the air with three duels won out of the three he had to play. He finished the match having touched the most balls among the 22 players present on the pitch (152 balls touched).

– Beraldo (3.5): he had the ball stolen by Diakite and was behind Ito, who was involved in the opening goal. Too often away from the Japanese, the Brazilian once again showed all his difficulties on the left flank of the defense against a technically strong opponent. Replaced by Nuno Mendes (83rd)more accustomed to the left-back position.

– Lee (5): on his feet in the first minutes of the match, where he wanted to encourage his teammates to find him in depth, the Korean is the author of the first Parisian attempt on target (21st), a header that completely missed (26th). Repositioned on the right wing, he got back on his left foot to center and find Kolo Muani, without success (two successful out of six). Replaced by Senny Mayulu (83rd)who was playing his third match of the season. His shot in the final moments of the match was blocked by De Smet.

– Vitinha (5): still as clean in his transmissions, he directed the game via long balls to his teammates on the sides – seven long balls successful out of the seven attempted. He nevertheless had difficulty on the physical impact. Touched, he is replaced by Fabian Ruiz (70th)author of a neutral entry.

– Snow: see above

– Kolo Muani (3.5): on the right of the Parisian attack, he tried to provoke or accelerate, in vain. Well taken by a generous Nakamura in defense and especially Akieme, he then returned to the axis to be a support point on his team’s offensives. He did not have the slightest opportunity to get his teeth into. While Asensio and Ramos are injured, he risks having more playing time in the next matches. He will have to quickly find the back of the net if he does not want the criticism to fall on him.

– Gifted (4.5): for his first start with Paris Saint-Germain, he did not make an impression. Placed in a more axial position, he moved out of the zone to bring danger from the left, as on his shot pushed back by Diouf (35th). In the Reims area, he wasted some time (12 balls lost). Hit in the ankle, he is replaced by Ousmane Dembélé (65th). The former Rennes player returned to his preferred position, on the right side. Three minutes and 20 seconds after coming on, he scored his fourth goal of the season in the league and, above all, scored the equalizer after a cross from the left by Neves. He even came close to a double on a new cross from Neves, after a recovery on his part, but the ball went over (82nd).

– Barcola (4): Well taken by Buta, the former Lyonnais did not take the depth, which is however one of his strong points. On an excellent cross from Lee, he must do much better on his header, which goes just above Yehvann Diouf’s goal (55th). After three good matches in the championship, he seems to be getting back into line.