The choice to start Matvey Safonov in goal, Luis Enrique's plan in midfield and the awareness of management. Behind the scenes of PSG's defeat in Munich (1-0), Tuesday in the Champions League.
It is a scene that is strangely reminiscent of that of March 8, 2023 after the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League. It is 11:10 p.m. Tuesday evening in the corridors of the Allianz Arena when Nasser Al-Khelaïfi leaves the stadium. The Parisian president has his face closed and his eyes glued to his phone. During the meeting the Qatari leader was the target of several banners from German ultras. The message: “Minister, club owner, TV rights holder, member of the UEFA executive committee and president of the ECA, all in one? Football is me? Fuck off plutocratic Al-Khelaïfi”, with a photo of “NAK”’s face crossed out. The club does not comment on banners that it considers “abusive”. But he says he is surprised that German fans do not see the irony that Bayern controls UEFA but also the ECA.
Luis Enrique's midfield plan
On the pitch, Luis Enrique's choices raise questions. Before the match, everything was done to ensure that the team composition did not leak at any time. By aligning a 4-4-2, the Spanish coach primarily wants to shake up the Goretzka-Kimmich pair. Hence the reinforced midfield with the presence of Warren Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz. But among the Parisian staff, the observation is simple: Paris lost this midfield battle too quickly. Which was the trigger for the nightmarish evening at the capital club. However, on the edge of the field, Luis Enrique tried to ask his men to play higher. Without success.
Behind the scenes of Safonov's tenure
Another choice at the heart of all discussions: the tenure of Matvey Safonov. Following the match against Toulouse last weekend, Luis Enrique remained vague about a possible role as number 1 goalkeeper for Matvey Safonov. “Can he shake up the hierarchy? Maybe yes, maybe no,” comments the Parisian coach with a smile. But the Spanish coach does not change his method in private. He attaches importance to the player's daily involvement at the PSG Campus, in training. Only one question comes up: why would the goalkeeper position escape competition? In recent weeks, the Russian goalkeeper has stood out. In the staff, we note progress in the game under the former Krasnodar goalkeeper. He does not hesitate to play short, to restart quickly, to direct the game. Faced with Bayern Munich ready to press high, Luis Enrique therefore felt he needed these qualities. Despite a match eve session without much indication, it was recorded on the day that Safonov started the match. At midday, Gianluigi Donnarumma's entourage claims that the goalkeeper has not fully recovered from his intestinal virus which prevented him from participating in the match against France at San Siro. “He was ill and is probably not completely recovered,” confides a relative.
A “continuous evolution” planned for January and next summer
This new failure places Paris Saint-Germain in great difficulty in the ranking with a 26th place out of 36. But beyond the very uncertain future on the European scene, the internal discourse remains unchanged: the disappointment is there but impossible to say. panic. In the Parisian management we repeat that we need resilience and above all patience, an essential element in the context of the emerging project. The chain revolutions since 2011 following poor results are no longer a stable and sustainable approach. As explained by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi in the show Rothen S'enflamme, coach Luis Enrique maintains the support of management which ensures that continued development is necessary. She will perform both in January and next summer. The defeat against Bayern Munich has caused a realization that more changes are needed. It remains to be seen whether the winter transfer window offers opportunities to PSG. At the club, we explain that transformations take time and that Paris cannot change its strategy every three months. “NAK” knows with certainty that PSG must still evolve by producing very important work.
