Time for the first shock for the reigning French champions. After a mixed start to the season, at least on an accounting level, Paris Saint-Germain hosted Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening for the first day of Group F of the Champions League. A life-size test for Luis Enrique’s men, who presented themselves in 4-3-3. In goal, Gianluigi Donnarumma started just behind a four-man defense made up of Lucas Hernandez, Milan Skriniar, Marquinhos and Achraf Hakimi. An uncertain time, Manuel Ugarte held his place in the midfield alongside Vitinha and the young Warren Zaire-Emery. Finally, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé accompanied Randal Kolo Muani, preferred to Gonçalo Ramos.
The “MDR” looked bad!
Opposed to the Marsupials, in full doubt before challenging the Rouge et Bleu, the Parisians wanted to validate a new policy. Faced with the 5-3-2 of the BvB – without Sébastien Haller, on the bench, but carried by Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi, aligned on the front of the attack – the capital club did not tremble. A victory (2-0) thanks to achievements by Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi. A perfect or almost perfect entry into the running… And for good reason, when analyzing this first European outing of the season, the Parisian attacking trio did not appear particularly brilliant, except for this magnificent work by Dembélé leading from the penalty, caused and transformed by Mbappé upon returning from the locker room (49th).
Whether or not the rest of the season will confirm the failures observed, the understanding between the three men was, in any case, not felt… or not enough. Both on a technical level and in the choices made, the star trio of PSG never shone on Tuesday evening at the Parc des Princes. So, of course, time will work in their favor and the automatisms to be found must also be taken into account when retracing their performance. However, if this complicity remains an area of work, the individual performance of the three French internationals also proved insufficient. Symbol of a more than mixed evening? The new indigestible copy made by a certain Ousmane Dembélé. With the only spark being this solitary rush leading to the opener after the break, the former FC Barcelona winger, above all, confirmed all his difficulties around the opponent’s area.
Although renowned for his qualities of speed and this ability to impact, the 26-year-old Frenchman still struggles with finishing and displays a rather worrying technical waste… Tuesday evening, against the Emre Can gang, the one who found his old club thus lost 31 balloons! A figure far too large to hope to create real differences but which does not worry his trainer, Luis Enrique, who was rather complimentary when discussing his case at a press conference. “If I was a fan of any team, I would pay for my ticket to see them play. He has different qualities. He can miss three times, but he’s a player with magic. He may want to score his first goal, but that’s a normal process. He’s a wonderful player.”, launched the 53-year-old Spaniard. Still waiting for his first goal – and his first assist – with the reigning French champions, Dembélé continues, for the moment, to display a generally disappointing face.
Luis Enrique is not worried!
A disappointment also felt among several Parisian supporters when discussing the first tenure of a certain Randal Kolo Muani. Preferred over Gonçalo Ramos at the forefront of the Ile-de-France attack, the former Eintracht Frankfurt scorer also had a mixed evening. Available for his partners and author of some interesting calls, the new reinforcement of the Rouge et Bleu has, on the other hand, often found himself alone. In the middle of the five-man defense formed by Borussia Dortmund, the former Nantes player never really had the opportunity to show himself. Embarrassed when taking a cross from Dembélé a quarter of an hour into the game (15th), he saw his only other attempt blocked by the German rearguard (33rd). For the rest ? A nice header to Achraf Hakimi and that’s it. Caught in the duel (only one won out of eight contested), technically imprecise (only one successful dribble) and not very sharp in the last meters, RKM had a contrasting first start. A difficult start which did not seem to disturb Luis Enrique either.
“His difficulties? He just arrived, just after the break. We are very happy with him, the same for Bradley Barcola”assured the former coach of La Roja in particular before insisting. “Randal (Kolo Muani) needs time to get to know all his teammates and our entire system. I am very happy with his match. Need to play more together? We don’t have much time ahead of us but I’m happy to have all these attackers. It’s important to achieve our goals.”. Finally, third arrow of the Parisian attack, Kylian Mbappé also delivered a score with many false notes. If his goal – his 41st in 62 Champions League matches – separates him somewhat from his offensive companions, the rest leaves, here too, some bitter flavors. Uninspired offensively, like this missed lob in added time (90+1), the Parisian number 7 did not stand out this time (only 1 shot on target out of 5 attempts).
Guilty of a significant technical waste (21 lost balls), sometimes annoyed and above all not very influential in the game, he finally thanked Jesus Gil Manzano for offering him the opportunity to put his name on the scoreboard. Decisive despite everything, the man with 71 caps for the French team (40 goals) also received praise from his coach at a press conference. “Kylian for me is the best player in the world. But more than his technical qualities, what struck me was his human quality. It’s a pleasure to have him in the locker room, he’s a leader always with a smile.”, observed the ex-Barça coach in front of journalists. Enough to draw a general assessment of this first European evening: the Mbappé-Dembélé-Kolo Muani trio did not shine, Luis Enrique is not worried and Paris won. Next meeting, this Sunday, at the Parc des Princes where the three stars will, perhaps, have an opportunity to respond during the shock of the 6th day of Ligue 1 against an OM in full crisis.
