The first leg was a battle between two assertive styles, two coaches with offensive ideas. The poster between PSG and Bayern Munich offered a match within the match between Luis Enrique and Vincent Kompany. During the spectacular first round at the Parc des Princes, it was the Spanish coach who got the better of the Belgian technician. The return match this Wednesday was obviously eagerly awaited. And if we could think that the two men would have approached the meeting with the famous philosophy of “score one more goal than the opponent”, this time, Luis Enrique was much more pragmatic.
Strong choices
And if we study his communication more closely, his plan already seemed well oiled. Last week, after the victory against the German club, Luis Enrique said: “I asked my staff, they told me that we would probably have to score three goals in the return to qualify”. In the end, one will be enough. And if he arrived very early (3rd) and probably disrupted the plans of the two teams, PSG finally surprised everyone by deciding to close the shop, or almost, going so far as, in certain sequences, to defend with 11 in its own camp. “I think we showed a (higher) level of maturity today. We knew how to defend, we knew how to attack, we did everything. You can appreciate the mentality we have. As a coach, it’s a real pleasure to see this type of performance and when you see what our supporters give us, it’s incredible. It’s a moment of sharing with all Parisians and trying to win the second Champions League in a row will be very difficult, but we have the ambition», Analyzed Luis Enrique at a press conference after the meeting.
PSG actually defended very well in this match. Harry Kane’s goal at the very end of the match somewhat spoiled the perfect copy of the Parisian defense, led by a Marquinhos-Pacho duo of great evenings. The Brazilian probably had his best match of the season in what was the real tactical point. With the absence of Hakimi and the tenure of Zaire-Emery on the right of the defense, Luis Enrique decided to send Marquinhos in individual marking on Luis Díaz, dangerous detonator of Bayern Munich. And this duel, very often one against one, often turned in favor of Marquinhos. This was one of the keys to the match and, given the excitement in the Bavarian left lane, Vincent Kompany did not seem to have foreseen the move.
Kompany without solution
“We attacked, we defended and we defended very well as a team. That’s what allowed us to win the match today.”confided Désiré Doué after the meeting. A thought shared by captain Marquinhos, who highlighted his team in the mixed zone. “As I said, to get to the final and win at a high level, sometimes you have to defend, rely on the attackers to come back and defend low. It’s this team mentality that the coach, our president and the leaders have brought back. This is what makes us strong. Matches where we have to defend, be behind the ball, play low like today, it shows that we are ready to face all the difficulties that we may have in a match. »
If PSG was greatly dominated, in the end it only conceded very few chances and was hardly worried with 1.40xG conceded. The Parisians even finally scored more shots than their evening opponent. With his back to the wall, Vincent Kompany did not have any major solutions on his bench to change things and Luis Enrique had confidence in this since he quietly strengthened the heart of the game when Jackson returned. A choice which forced Bayern, even more than it usually did, to overplay in the corridors and find Olise and Luis Diaz. In vain. “How many times have you seen PSG defend like this? We were in a very good position, but the last shots lacked precision. Their centers were fantastic, I have to emphasize that”Kompany confided at a press conference. The Iberian technician managed to take his opponent exactly where he wanted. And if of course, the facts of the game also facilitated this scenario, Luis Enrique once again proved that he already had everything of a great technician.
