A somewhat unusual schedule for Paris Saint-Germain who hosted Stade Rennais this Sunday afternoon, on the lawn of the Parc des Princes, as part of the 23rd day of Ligue 1. A match during which the Parisians held on to the draw at home against the Bretons (1-1). For this meeting, Luis Enrique had to deal with a lack of size since the Parisian captain, Marquinhos, was absent from the group due to muscle pain contracted against FC Nantes last weekend. The Spanish coach therefore aligned an unprecedented defense with a hinge made up of Danilo and Lucas Beraldo, while Achraf Hakimi and Lucas Hernandez occupied the two flanks of the Parisian rearguard. Without Marquinhos, the PSG defense, not free from all reproaches this season, has once again failed in its mission. While rumors of a possible departure to Bayern Munich emerged this week in the press, the importance of Marquinhos took on its full meaning this Sunday.
Without the Brazilian captain, the Parisian rearguard, plagued by numerous criticisms, had difficulty being solid and consistent. Fortunately for PSG, Marquinhos’ absence should not last, as Luis Enrique explained so well in a pre-match press conference on Saturday: “I don’t want to talk about transfers but history says that few players leave PSG. Those who leave are those who end their contract or the club wants to sell them. I don’t think this is the case for Marquinhos. For me he is a top player, who always performs and is important for us and his injury is not serious. It will not be available tomorrow but will be ready soon”. Sometimes criticized, rightly or exaggeratedly, Marquinhos is indeed essential despite a few moments below. When the cat’s away the mice will play…
Danilo mystified by Gouiri!
Used to being a perfect complement, a soldier carrying out shadow work, Danilo Pereira had a lot of difficulties. Always overwhelmed and often with his back to the game, the Portuguese experienced an ordeal against Amine Gouiri. The former Lyonnais easily made fun of the Parisian defense to open the scoring, outpacing everyone and placing a formidable outside foot strike. Despite Rennes’ low number of chances, PSG never seemed calm at the back, while the attack failed to find the gap: “It was a complicated match from the start. We were more imprecise than normally, less inspired. I liked the pressure of the team. The opponent almost didn’t get past the middle, they scored a magnificent goal, in a very high level action. We perhaps lacked mobility without the ball. It’s very important (mobility) when you’re not inspired. We struggled to generate scoring chances. But a draw is a fair result., nevertheless explained at a press conference, Luis Enrique who recognizes that the meeting was not simple, although it must be put into perspective. One action, one goal. An adverse efficiency and realism that Parisians often lack. The Rennais, Amine Gouri, admitted not being surprised by the spaces left in the Parisian defense: “I was not surprised, we are used to it because they attack in numbers and on transitions, they do not do too much efforts so there are shots to play and a lot of space to exploit,” analyzed the Algerian international.
Communication with the Parisian midfield also seemed very rusty. Far from being illogical given the unprecedented defense lined up by Luis Enrique, who has often insisted on the importance of defense to better attack: “Rennes is a very good team. They have very good players and I think we had a good first half until Rennes scored. The first time Rennes approached our goal, they scored. Until this goal, we were doing very well”, recognized the Portuguese midfielder, Vitinha. In the rest of the defense, Beraldo made some good interventions by being placed in the axis, but still remains too raw to take defensive leadership. Warned of a yellow card, Lucas Hernandez was less clean than usual, while Achraf Hakimi mainly moved forward despite some well-made clearances: “It wasn’t easy against a good Rennes team who were on a good run. We saved a small point but it’s still a reminder of what awaits us next. They did a good defensive job, they scored on their first opportunity… It’s never easy to play against a defensive team. We tried to go through the sides, but it didn’t work.”, analyzed the former Bayern Munich defender in the mixed zone. Fortunately, PSG will be able to count on the return of Nuno Mendes, who entered the game this Sunday who, little by little, will regain his status to relieve Lucas Hernandez and Lucas Beraldo
