Europe: Five Nations, Ten Risks – A Chronicle Warning

Using the verb win is reductive: PSG crushed Marseille, on Sunday night, in a classic that was tremendously uneven due to the enormous superiority of the Parisians. There were five goals, but it could have been 10. And no, it’s not an exaggeration: Paris Saint Germain made half a dozen successful shots, threw another four into the woodwork and even saw goalkeeper Lange stop at least three balls that had a certain destination.

It was a superb game from the men and boys of the capital. Rotation in limits, positional changes, triangulations and an attitude typical of predators: the more the prey smelled of blood, the bigger and deadlier the attacks. One team only plays what the other lets play and Marseille is still wounded in its pride and in many other things (and the elimination in the Champions League in exchange with Benfica contributed a lot), but it seems that PSG is back on point, that devouring team that last season went over everything and everyone and ended up winning the Champions League for the first time in its history.

With Nuno Mendes, João Neves and Vitinha in the eleven, Luis Enrique once again bet on the offensive trident formed by Doué, Dembelé and Barcola, leaving Kvaratskhelia and Gonçalo Ramos on the bench. Facing a rival who presented a line of three central defenders, it was clear from an early stage that the markings and positioning of the South of France team were doomed to failure. Nuno Mendes was one of the culprits: the left-back was a TGV who started the play near his area, passed it to one of the midfielders and five seconds later he received the ball in the opposite area.

Thus was born the first goal (12′), with the Portuguese putting Dembelé in the face of the opposing goalkeeper. From then on it was a festival, a lesson in how to dominate an opponent, confuse them to the point of despair. Opportunities arose almost every three minutes, not even the time of a song interrupted feelings of suffocation for Lange. Dembelé then had a moment of genius: receiving a ball on the right side, he went into the area, dribbled past two opponents with a divine change of feet and shot into an area of the goal that few dare: placing the ball close to the goalkeeper’s head. Genius.

At half-time, the two goal difference was small in Paris. And the return to the field was overwhelming, in such a way that it seemed like men against children. The game only took place 40 meters away, João Neves was close to 3-0, he saw the goalkeeper smile at him, but it wouldn’t take long for the midfielder to force Medina to score an own goal. The Marseillais were lost in the PSG merry-go-round and the introduction of the substitutes had an even worse effect: Kvaratskhelia came in and scored; Lee Kang-in came in and scored; Kvaratskhelia shot at the bar, Nuno Mendes too, Nuno Mendes once again appearing in Lange’s face and allowing the spot… There were only five, it could have been ten. Be careful, Europe: in February, as Luis Enrique promised, the great PSG will be back.