After a well-deserved vacation, PSG played its very first summer preparation match this Wednesday evening. Still deprived of a large part of his executives, Luis Enrique is already preparing for the European Super Cup against Aston Villa, scheduled for Wednesday August 12, before another friendly match against Manchester United this Saturday. For this first outing, the Spanish technician relied on a very young squad. In front of Safonov, the defense was made up of Boly, Zabarnyi, Koukaba and Lucea, while Lucas Beraldo played in midfield, a position likely to be repeated this season. Beraldo was accompanied by Mayulu, captain, and Dro at the heart of the game. In attack, Mbaye, Kvaratskhelia and Ndjantou formed the attacking trio.
Opposite, Mallorca approached this meeting with confidence after two consecutive successes in friendly matches. From the start, PSG quickly put their foot on the leather, the Parisians have already displayed certain playing principles of Luis Enrique. Without the ball, the European champions played with a four-man defense, while in the possession phase, the system transformed into 3-4-3 with Boly very high on his right lane to provide width. Despite this territorial domination, it was the locals who found the fault first. In the 21st minute, Luvombo opened the scoring for Mallorca, before the Spaniards made the break a few minutes later after a big mistake from Ilia Zabarnyi, exploited by Virgili.
Young Parisians far too shy
PSG therefore returned to the locker room two goals behind at the end of a complicated first period, particularly for Zabarnyi, expected as an element of experience in a very young and inexperienced Parisian defense. At the break, Luis Enrique made only one change, replacing his goalkeeper and giving minutes to Lucas Chevalier. Despite this adjustment, PSG failed to change its intentions or reverse the trend, even conceding a third goal after returning from the locker room. On a corner perfectly struck by Sala, Raillo imposed himself in the air to deceive the Parisian vigilance. Lucas Chevalier could not do anything about this action (3-0, 51st). Despite four changes made by Mallorca at the break, the locals showed more desire and intensity. Then, Luis Enrique made three changes with Pacho, Ayari and Bourdin.
After signing his first professional contract last July, the young Ayari Adam made a very good start, bringing more dynamism to the Parisian offensive sector. In the 70th minute, he tried his luck, but his shot was ultimately blocked by the opposing defense. It was probably the best Parisian opportunity in this meeting. Despite some new changes at the end of the match, notably with the entries of Meïté and Fanné-Dramé in the 82nd minute, PSG never managed to react and ended this first preparation outing without scoring a single goal. A failed first outing for Paris, which will have to quickly gain strength before facing Aston Villa.
