🔗 Share this article

“The situation is both pleasing and irritating,” remarks the team's head coach. The PSG boss has a complicated relationship with how his squad's league matches develop. In PSG's matches, one team presses and the other sits back. “Breaking down deep defenses appeals to me,” he asserts. “It is the phase of play that I am most familiar with. I appreciate the diversity of football approaches. Though unconventional compared to our style, I acknowledge and welcome it.”

Dealing with deep defenses isn’t really a choice for PSG; it's their constant situation, because of the skill gap created by financial imbalance. Their talent usually tells and the defensive wall is broken with varying degrees of difficulty. However, this campaign has been more challenging.

Game Dominance Yet Insufficient Results

The French champions have recorded nearly three-quarters of possession in France's top flight so far this campaign. Facing Nice in their recent match, they had 76.5% of the ball and made 760 passes, compared to just under 200 for their opponents. At the interval, Vitinha had 90 contacts with the ball – just six fewer than the complete opposition side – but PSG couldn't translate superiority into goals. At halftime, the visiting team's defender, whose header was cleared off the line by a PSG player, had come closest to scoring.

This match wasn't an exception. The Parisians had tied three out of four Ligue 1 games. They had 71% possession against Strasbourg, but were needing a late Mayulu leveler to salvage a point. And, despite having dominant control against their midweek opponents in midweek, they managed just one goal and were unable to win. Almost one third of the way into the season, PSG are just fifth in scoring in Ligue 1 – after Marseille, Lille, Monaco and Strasbourg.

Strike Force Struggles

This stems from the special treatment that PSG attract, but also indicates a real issue. Their goal scorers are underperforming. Their star forward's 29 strikes last season aided in securing Ligue 1 and the European Cup; Bradley Barcola scored 14 goals in the league; Désiré Doué hit 16 in all competitions; and Kvaratskhelia scored eight goals after his mid-season arrival.

The forward claimed the prestigious award and, while it is debatable that the French star is indeed the best player in the world, it is hard to dispute that he was not the outstanding individual of the previous term. He has just five scores in 12 appearances this season. He experienced a muscle problem while on country representation in September, which led to a conflict between PSG and the national squad that has seen the connection between club and country worsen. Dembélé missed around six weeks of action as a result, but he appears below his best. After the win over Nice, he was seen touching his muscle. “It's very painful,” he told club colleague.

Player Availability

The PSG coach says Dembélé will be fit to face the German giants this week in the European competition but, while he returns to full fitness, teammates must contribute. It won’t be Doué. The former Rennes forward was also hurt in the same month. He was just getting back to his best when he was struck down with another thigh injury, which is likely to keep him out until the new year. The Georgian is a important contributor to his team but he often excels mainly for the big occasions in the Champions League; he is still without a goal in Ligue 1 this season. Their current top scorer, PSG’s top scorer in all competitions this season, has just a single strike in his last eight games and is in a fallow period. An attacker with hot streaks, the scoring will surely resume, but he can’t be expected to be the goalscorer in this expensively assembled PSG attack.

Their center forward found the match-winner against Nice but will he keep his place in the team?

These were the expectations assigned to Gonçalo Ramos when he arrived in 2023. The Portugal striker achieved the landmark of 100 games for PSG against Nice, but he has come off the bench in over 50% of those appearances. Having scored nearly half his total after entering as a replacement, he has very much assumed the role of the “super-sub”, somewhat owing to his limited contribution when starting, but mainly owing to his manager’s reluctance to begin with a out-and-out forward. “Why do I score so many goals off the bench? Basically because my appearances are mainly from the bench,” remarked Ramos after the match.

Critical Moment

With the goals drying up across the attacking unit, the match-winning strike has given his coach something to consider. The centre-forward was unsuccessful with earlier attempts before scoring his final and winning the match, but the fact that PSG’s best chances were created for him is telling. He's a natural goal scorer and that is what PSG were buying when they made a significant investment. “He is a very important player for us because he is always ready for every match, whether he starts or not,” said their coach. “Short cameos from the striker are valuable time.” The moment might have come for the super-sub to play a leading part.

Ligue 1 Results

• Rennes 4-1 Strasbourg
• Lens 3-0 Lorient
• Lille 1-0 Angers
• Nantes 0-2 Metz
• Toulouse 0-0 Le Havre
• Brest 0-0 Lyon
• PSG 1-0 Nice
• Monaco 0-1 Paris FC
• Auxerre 0-1 Marseille

League Standings

Position	Team	Played	Goal Difference	Points
1	PSG	11	12	24
2	Marseille	11	14	22
3	Lens	11	7	22
4	Lille	11	10	20
5	Monaco	11	6	20
6	Lyon	11	4	20
7	Strasbourg	11	6	19
8	Nice	11	0	17
9	Toulouse	11	2	15
10	Rennes	11	1	15
11