At the end of another disappointing performance, PSG lost to Bayern Munich on Tuesday in the Champions League (1-0). Luis Enrique had a few surprises in store at kick-off, with the start of Matvey Safonov, a denser midfield and two wingers in attack, but the Parisian coach's choices did not allow his team to shine at the Allianz Arena.
Luis Enrique made several strong decisions to try to stop PSG's negative spiral in the Champions League. But the Spanish coach's experiments did not allow his team to avoid further disillusionment. On the contrary, they hastened his fall. At the end of a timid performance, the Parisians lost on the pitch of Bayern Munich on Tuesday, during the fifth day (1-0). Weighed down by the exclusion of Ousmane Dembélé at the start of the second half, the Ligue 1 leaders delivered a tasteless match against the Bavarians who were far from their best level. A failure which further tarnishes Luis Enrique's record in the premier competition with Paris (eight defeats in seventeen matches)…
Safonov preferred to Donnarumma
Cooled by the failures of Gianluigi Donnarumma on the European scene, Luis Enrique decided to start Matvey Safonov for this shock in the lair of Bayern. But the Russian goalkeeper was not satisfactory. Even though he made several saves during the match, including a spectacular one by deflecting a shot from Jamal Musiala onto his post, the former Krasnodar goalkeeper (recruited last summer for 20 million euros) made a big mistake on the sole purpose of the meeting. Receiving a corner from Joshua Kimmich shortly before the break, Matvey Safonov, a little hampered by Jamal Musiala, completely missed his aerial exit, allowing Kim Min-jae to easily score with a header.
“The saves he makes, Donnarumma makes them every day,” commented Daniel Riolo in After Foot on RMC. The problem isn't Safonov's blunder, it's why embarrass yourself with this game of alternating goalkeepers? What did you need to do that? It's not like you brought in Sepp Maier or Lev Yashin. You brought in Safonov, the ex-Krasnodar goalkeeper, who was ridiculous on goal!”
A system without an axial attacker
For this trip to the Allianz Arena, Luis Enrique also tried to modify his usual tactical pattern, focusing on a 4-4-2. Without a central striker or a false number 9. The 54-year-old coach has aligned two wingers, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé, to provide offensive animation. And Paris had a lot of trouble weighing on Bayern's defense. By severely lacking presence in the opposing area.
As since the start of the season, Barcola has failed to make an impact in this C1 poster. The top scorer in Ligue 1 even went through the match like a ghost, before giving way twenty minutes from the end to Gonçalo Ramos, returning to the competition after three months of absence. Dembélé, himself, was excluded after returning from the locker room by receiving a second yellow for an intervention on Alphonso Davies, after having already been warned for protest. Randal Kolo Muani remained on the bench all evening, while Marco Asensio entered in the last minutes, without contributing anything interesting.
A strengthened midfield
To support his winger duo, Luis Enrique has concocted a dense midfield with four elements: Vitinha, Joao Neves, Warren Zaire-Emery and Fabian Ruiz. A quartet which did not allow PSG to hold the ball in Bavaria (42% possession). The Parisian midfielders spent a good part of their match running around, trying to press their rivals, without much success. With limited ball support, a lack of audacity and little inspiration in the end. The early exclusion of Ousmane Dembélé did not make their task easier, but the torchbearers of the capital club generally disappointed in the Bayern den.
The tenure of Fabian Ruiz
Since his arrival at PSG in the summer of 2022, Fabian Ruiz has never blazed in a major Champions League match. And the 28-year-old midfielder, aligned by Luis Enrique in Munich, lived up to his reputation. Far from the decisive player who won Euro 2024 with Spain, the former Napoli player once again delivered a bland and lackluster score. With long hooks, unnecessary runs and a lot of excitement with the ball.
“We were obviously dazzled by his Euro, but before and after, there is nothing. It’s nothingness,” summarized Daniel Riolo on RMC. “He's not there, he's a complement to the squad. Fabian Ruiz is also more comfortable with Spain because he feels better in the locker room. He's someone who is not very good in the Parisian locker room because the guys are not like him, they don't have the same culture. He doesn't fit into this group. There are two or three people with whom he speaks, the rest. These are not his A-band guys. for a moment, maybe you just have to tell yourself that he has to go and that's it…”
