For its entry into the Champions League, PSG struck a big blow by dominating Atalanta (4-0) at the Parc des Princes, despite the absence of several offensive frameworks like Dembélé and Goué. Marquinhos opened the scoring quickly, before Kvaratskhelia widen the gap, followed by Nuno Mendes shortly after the return of the locker room. Gonçalo Ramos sealed success in additional time. With 711 successful assists, 22 shots including 15 in the area and 10 big opportunities, Paris has shown a total mastery of the game and an ability to put in difficulty an Italian team still demanding despite its transition with Ivan Jurić. Six corners conceded only and largely favorable possession have confirmed the collective domination of a PSG already very efficient for this first European meeting.
The surprise came from the starting eleven: Luis Enrique established Senny Mayulu at the forefront of the attack in an unprecedented role of false-nine, preferring the young Titi to Gonçalo Ramos, however expected of entry as evidenced by the recent initial compositions of the Spanish coach. With the injuries of Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, the former coach of La Roja chose to reposition the 19 -year -old attacking midfielder at the heart of the attack trio, surrounded by Kvaratskhelia and Barcola. A risky bet on paper, but which gave a mobile and unpredictable face to the Parisian offensive sector, especially in the first act where Mayulu has multiplied the dropouts to create spaces.
Beautiful tactical things to remember
For his first tenure in the Champions League, Senny Mayulu showed a great desire to do well and a constant commitment. With only 36 touches of ball, he played simple and precise (18 passes successful out of 21, 86 %), lost only nine balloons and suffered three faults, proof that he knew how to provoke his opposite. Although he lacked efficiency in the last gesture (three blocked shots and a single successful dribbling out of three tempted), his activity and his slaughter in duels (9 on the ground, 5 won) helped Paris to maintain strong offensive pressure: “It was estimated that with high pressure from Atalanta, use Mayulu in number 9, with a lot of mobility, in -depth calls but also the ability to receive balloons in your feet, could really help us. And we managed to create a lot of opportunities in this way“Said Luis Enrique at a press conference. His support role notably opened breaches for his teammates, as on the action of Hakimi in the 10th minute where he releases depth for Fabián Ruiz. The young Titi is not a number 9 of profession, and it sometimes felt. Back to goal, he had more difficulty in weighing on the defenders, as in the center of Nuno Mendes in the 13th minute or in some imprecise discounts. But he caught up with his displacement intelligence and his defensive efforts.
In the 30th minute, we saw him come back to his camp to scrape a ball and cut an opposing transition. Through its repeated calls, the Parisian number 24 has contributed to expanding the Bergamasque block and allowed offensive players to combine in the intervals. His hybrid profile has provided an additional mobility to the Parisian attack. Replaced post for post by Lee Kang-in in the 54th minute, Senny Mayulu left the lawn to the applause of the Parc des Princes, aware of having responded in a context of strong expectations. Lee, quickly repositioned in the middle after João Neves's injury, did not have the same point impact. This performance suggests an interesting future for Mayulu in the Luis Enrique system. Even if he does not yet have the finish of a goalscorer, he brings energy, pressing and intelligence of play. For a first tenure in the Champions League, the bet of the Spanish coach has been paying, confirming that PSG has a succession ready to integrate into the big European meetings, which is more in a long and exhausting season where a hecatum of injuries is never too far.
