“I am very optimistic about what I see. High tension matches are almost the easiest. You won’t have a lack of motivation. You have to be careful of excess motivation. I take it into account. You need 100% motivation but not 105%. You must not be led by emotions”. Here is what Luis Enrique said a few hours before the first Classic of this 2024-2025 season. Optimism is largely justified given the turn of events on Sunday evening at the Orange Vélodrome. Ideally launched by João Neves (1-0, 7th) and in numerical superiority after the expulsion of Amine Harit (20th), the Parisians finally played against the Marseille rival. Well helped by a new blunder from Leonardo Balerdi, scorer against his camp (2-0, 29th), Warren Zaire-Emery’s teammates buried the last hopes of Marseille just before the break on a new solitary rush from Ousmane Dembélé, concluded in a second time by Bradley Barcola (3-0, 40th).
Effective pressing, newfound depth
In control after returning from the locker room despite countless opportunities to increase their lead (47th, 56th, 72nd, 77th, 87th, 90th), the Rouge et Bleu thus offered themselves a 51st victory against the Marseillais (the 36th out of 55 latest PSG-OM). A success without any dispute, although some observers will continue to rehash this action from the 20th minute of play where François Letexier sanctioned Amine Harit with a direct red card for a dangerous foot given to the sternum of Marquinhos. And for good reason. If this arbitration decision – questionable and contested – logically impacted the rest of the debates (nearly 75% of ball possession and 19 shots for the Ile-de-France residents), it would be dishonest to attribute the Parisian victory to this single fact of play. numerical superiority, or not, the Parisians have, in fact, constantly gained the upper hand over their evening opponent. Sharper from the first moments, PSG, ultimately little frightened by the incandescent atmosphere of the Vélodrome, initially shone with its state of mind.
Unlike the Phocaeans, Luis Enrique’s men showed constant determination. Present on the second balls, authoritarian in the duel, effective in counter-pressing, PSG continued to suffocate its sworn enemy. Without pride and without a real solution, OM could only suffer or thank the clumsiness of the Parisians, particularly upon returning from the locker room. “It’s a very positive outcome. Winning a Classic away from home with this form of authority is very important. We started very well against an opponent who pressed us from the start, then we scored this first goal. The expulsion changed the match, it became harder for the opponent, a more closed match. But my team continued to work, to develop its actions. In the second half, the match became calmer for us because the opponent pulled back even though we had four or five chances.noted with this in mind the Ile-de-France coach at a press conference.
Ousmane Dembélé in an axial role
Sure of his men, but above all of his ideas (Randal Kolo Muani can attest to this), the former coach of La Roja will, in fact, be able to congratulate himself on a plan which will have worked to perfection. A plan summarized in a few words: rely on your strengths while exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses. Organized in 4-3-3 with what looks like the typical PSG team today, the Rouge et Bleu continued to undermine the Olympian defense, particularly in the corridors. On the left side, Barcola, not always successful in his duel with Murillo, nevertheless remained at the origin of the opening score and author of the third Parisian goal. Replaced in false number 9, Ousmane Dembélé – who ceded his right lane to Kang-In Lee for the occasion – gave him a little nightmare in the Olympian rearguard. Very mobile, the French international, credited with a 7 by the FM editorial team, took advantage of this central position to take the game into his own hands and strike repeatedly.
“He is a player capable of interpreting the game, of finding spaces, and it was possible to find them inside in this meeting. We had control of the ball, I really liked it”justified Luis Enrique in this regard to the journalists. Inspired when imagining this tactical repositioning, the ex-Barça tactician was also inspired by inviting his men to cut connections with Adrien Rabiot and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg. To do this, the trio composed of Vitinha (12 balls recovered), Warren Zaire-Emery (5 duels won, 2 interceptions, 2 balls recovered) and Joao Neves (8 duels won out of 10, 4 balls scratched) continued to harass the Marseille midfielder. A strategy that more than paid off since Roberto De Zerbi’s men never found a way to escape this constant pressure. “From the first minute, I think we saw a team that really wanted it, who managed to find the spaces, with quality counter-pressing, control of the game in general”welcomed Luis Enrique.
An impeccable state of mind
Constant pressing, a mobile attack line, incessant deep shots and a sovereign midfielder, also allowing the Parisian defense to experience a very quiet evening… This is how PSG reduced their stated ambitions to nothing by OM. Conquered by the performance of his players, the Parisian coach nevertheless refused to get excited, quite the contrary. “The most important thing is to control your emotions in this type of match. We then always play the same way, there is no particular calculation, everything is done according to the opponent’s position, with always the same objective, to take the ball, recover it and keep it. The idea is clear and always remains the same. Afterwards, everything can improve, both in attack and in defense. It’s a constant as a coach, I’m non-conformist. I want the passes to be more precise, for my team to run more, to fight more. I want us to attack more, to score more goals”. Fortunately for OM, PSG must also continue to work to fully satisfy the desires of their coach…
