Thread by @KeepItRowllin, PSG vs Man City analysis threadHere we go LINEUPS:PSG: imo, their [...]

PSG vs Man City analysis thread

Here we go

LINEUPS:
PSG: imo, their shape was more of a 4-3-3 with Neymar on the LW and Verratti in a mid 3
Man City: Pep Guardiola went striker-less again, this time with KDB up front.

Very strong line-ups from both teams, I don't recollect any significant injuries

PSG:
Build-up:
Le Parisiens chose to go with a 3-back option with Paredes dropping into the defensive line, and Gueye in front of him.
Full-backs didn't go too high

Since Kimpembe, Marquinhos and Paredes are all efficient on the ball, an excess of midfield support wasn't needed.
Verratti positioned himself diagonally next to Gueye, and Neymar drifted into spaces.

Mbappe often compensated for this by shifting his position as well. We can also see how Verratti has taken an advanced position

This build-up didn't come to fruition often, because PSG saw less of the ball. Instead they focused on attacking City during transitions.

City played a high-intensity counter-press. As soon as they lost the ball, they would close down PSG almost immediately to win it back or cause tactical fouls.
However, Neymar, Verratti, di Maria were efficient at running into spaces in the first half

Once PSG penetrated the outskirts of the final third, City would form a very narrow and compact block to stifle the ball carrier and win it back. However, this left space on the wings that PSG would exploit eventually

Joao Cancelo's yellow card was a huge boost for Pochettino and co. This gave them license to run and take him on. Fearing a second booking, he wouldn't be able to dive into a challenge.
PSG used the right extensively from minute 30-45, and even created some decent chances there

Defensive formation:
They chose to go with a rigid 4-4-2. Di Maria and Verratti went as wide-mids. The overall unit maintained a decent amount of width.

Their pressing pattern was fairly docile compared to City's. They tried to close down on a pivot or one of the CMs, but it didn't work too well because City had overloaded the midfield very well using KDB.

They maintained a very tight structure when City was close to their final third. There weren't many defensive problems because the CBs had nobody to mark centrally, and the CMs put in a good shift when it came to rotations and covering

Mitchell Bakker had a horror show though. Luckily he had Verratti covering him. Even if City managed to break through on the right, there were very few targets in and around the box for crosses

City:
Buildup:
As usual, City went in with the objective of dominating the midifield and keeping possession. They had a 2+2 formation in phase 1. Walker played closer to midfield as compared to Cancelo

When the ball was in the midfield, we frequently saw de Bruyne or Bernardo Silva coming deeper to receive and create overloads. It helped in keeping the ball, but they sacrificed a lot of central presence.

Attacking Rotations:
One area City targeted relentlessly was PSG's left. Bernardo Silva repeatedly lured Bakker out and created space for Mahrez.

City also used triangles on their left wing. Foden, KDB and Cancelo overloaded PSG's right.
To compensate for the structure, Walker played as an inverted full-back and drifted into midfield

Even though City had superiority on the wings, they never really had a player to receive the ball in the box.
Pic 2: nobody in zone 14, 3v4 in box with huge aerial disadvantage

Defensive formation:
City had different approaches depending on where the ball was. This is the first one - a 4-2-4 esque formation where the pivot and back-line is pressed. Usually it was Bernardo Silva who joined the front 3

If the ball went into the midfield 3rd, then they collapsed into a 4-3-3 formation trying to cover out the mids. They were narrower as compared to PSG

Their third option was to completely stifle PSG when they were entering City's defensive third. This left a lot of space open on the wings, but it worked when they had to contain Neymar and Mbappe

In the second half, City changed their approach. Foden was instructed to operate centrally or in the left half-space.
To maintain width, Cancelo was given more liberties. Gundogan also started going up more often.

Bernardo Silva and Mahrez remained close to each other.
Since City were attacking a lot more and would be prone to counters, they brought in Zinchenko. Having a card-free player in a crucial turnover position relieves a lot of stress.

In the end, it proved to be more of a mental game. Very silly errors by PSG for both goals, and City capitalized on that well.
I wouldn't call it a well deserved win by any means, but PSG still have a second chance

End of thread.
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