Paris Saint-Germain settled for a goalless draw on Tuesday against Al-Nassr, for their second warm-up match. Here is what to remember from this friendly meeting.
PSG of the Luis Enrique era gets to the heart of the matter. After a resumption match which was akin to an appetizer in its summer preparation, Friday, against Le Havre at the Poissy Campus (2-0), the capital club faced Al-Nassr for the first of its scheduled matches as part of its Asian tour in Japan and South Korea. And the champions of France had to settle for a parity score (0-0).
The composition: several frames at rest
Without the superstar Kylian Mbappé, the other gondola head of Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar, was necessarily scrutinized. The question fueled all the debates in Osaka: was the Brazilian going to return to the pitch on Tuesday? Luis Enrique took no risk by leaving the artist on the bench at kick-off.
The attack was made up of the young Lemina and the two Spaniards Asensio and Soler, in front of a midfield made up of Vitinha, Cher Ndour and Warren Zaire-Emery. Two other summer recruits trod the lawn of the Japanese stadium on Tuesday, namely defenders Milan Skriniar, aligned in the axis, and Lucas Hernandez on the left side.
The composition of PSG : Donnarumma – Hakimi, Danilo, Skriniar, Hernandez – Vitinha, Ndour, Zaire-Emery – Lemina, Asensio, Soler.
Opposite, Al-Nassr was obviously betting on the inevitable Cristiano Ronaldo, but the five-time Ballon d’Or could already refine his automatisms with the flagship recruits of the summer, such as the Croatian Marcelo Brozovic or the former Lensois Seko Fofana.
Al Nassr’s composition: Al Aqidi – Al Ghannam, Madu, Lajami, Konan – Brozovic, Fofana – Yahya, Talisca, Ghareeb – Ronaldo.
Animation: a sometimes sterile possession
Like Friday against Le Havre, Luis Enrique confirmed his intention to bet on an articulated 4-3-3 system. A pattern that has always dictated the coaching career of the Spanish technician. But the system is one thing, and the animation is another. In this regard, too, the PSG version Luis Enrique has every intention of seducing observers by imposing his game.
With a high block and a desire to keep the ball – or to recover it very quickly from the loss – the identity advocated by the former coach of Spain is already clearly visible. But Paris still lacks verticality to grow its possession sequences. The absence of Kylian Mbappé is obviously no stranger to this.
The states of form: the little Lemina sensation
First point to note: the beautiful copies made by young Parisian shoots. Powerful and hard-hitting, Noah Lemina appeared without complex to animate the start of the match by creating several opportunities. He is also the only outfield player to have remained on the pitch during the wave of changes made by his coach in the second half. Warren Zaire-Emery, he needs no introduction. But the young midfielder still exudes the assurance of a taulier. It’s a safe bet that Luis Enrique is already under the spell.
For the rest, the rookies generally did the job by making a reassuring copy, Lucas Hernandez and Milan Skriniar being very aggressive in their interventions. Marco Asensio and Cher Ndour were more discreet. As often in recent seasons, Danilo has released a lot of serenity to plug the gaps in the more difficult sequences. Marco Verratti or Captain Marquinhos entered for the last half hour, without reporting.
