Paris Saint-Germain had to settle for a bitter draw (1-1) against PSV in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. A result which does not reassure Parisian supporters and observers. For this poster, Luis Enrique thus took the gamble of aligning Kang-in Lee at the forefront in a role of false number 9, supported by Ousmane Dembélé, right side, and Bradley Barcola, on the left. Warren Zaire-Emery, João Neves and Fabian Ruiz formed the midfield. Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes defended the lanes around Marquinhos and Willian Pacho. If the decision to do without Vitinha may raise questions, the starting line-up was all in all quite classic and expected for this Champions League meeting at the Parc des Princes. After the failure at Arsenal with a similar offensive system, the Spanish coach decided to try again at home against PSV for once again a negative result. How many attempts will the Gijon native need before he understands? This is the question that resonated in the minds of many Parisians on Wednesday evening when the final whistle blew.
If this idea of false 9 had had its small success in Ligue 1, it never managed to shine in the Champions League, which does not seem to worry Luis Enrique more than that: “It’s difficult to explain, but football is sometimes a little unfair. It seems to me that we had a very good match and that we were better than PSV. We created many more chances than our rival and we deserved to win, but we didn’t target our most important shots well enough. Football is capricious with this draw result already unfair, but we could even have lost…“, first summed up the Spanish coach. To dominate is not to materialize. The truth of today is not the truth of yesterday. The idea of the false 9 has worked occasionally at Paris Saint-Germain for a year, notably with Marco Asensio, but in the Champions League, especially this season, it is difficult to generate enough positive content. If real leading attackers like Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski or Erling Haaland are still thriving in 2024, it is for a specific reason: the importance of converting your opportunities.
The false 9, the real false good idea
By wrongly experimenting with the false 9 in the Champions League, it is Paris Saint-Germain’s European campaign which suffers: a victory, a draw and a defeat in three matches played. There are still Bayern, Atlético de Madrid and Manchester City on the program. Heavy, very heavy for a team that seems perpetually in progress: “we have the toughest schedule of all the teams and we will have to be ready to progress. It will be difficult and I am concerned, but not about the youth of my team. We are one of the teams that create the most chances in Europe, whether in the Championship or in C1. We must continue on this path. It’s a competition with a complicated draw for us. Of course I’m concerned. I think about what we’re going to have to do with the team, but I like the mentality of my players», Lamented Luis Enrique at a press conference. Seeing this false 9 become a real case of conscience, the management of Randal Kolo Muani seems even more inexplicable and while waiting for the return of Gonçalo Ramos from injuries, the former coach of La Roja persists with an offensive system which is sorely lacking in efficiency, realism, and regularity in one of the biggest competitions in the world. So no, Mr. Luis Enrique, all is not well in the best of all possible worlds. And any observer can understand it.
Before Achraf Hakimi’s goal, PSG players had reached the mark of more than 400 consecutive minutes of play without scoring a single goal for the first time in history in the Champions League, a total of 94 shots without finding the flaw: “as a coach, I do what I consider good for my team. I have no doubt that the team is on the line I want. She plays the football I want. Our team was better, it defended better, it created the best chances. There is a halo of pessimism around the team due to this unfair result, but I remain calm. I continue to believe in my players. Like the others, Lee (aligned as number nine) must adapt. No player can say he wants to play in just one position. I am satisfied with the performance, the combativeness and the attitude of the boys“, he then concluded. As a result of all this, Luis Enrique only won 40% of his matches on the bench with PSG in the Champions League (6/15), the lowest ratio for a Parisian coach in the competition under QSI. If we can grant the Parisians a certain amount of bad luck with these 18 amounts affected since last season in C1, there is still a repetition of lack of efficiency in attack and this makes one wonder if the lack of a real top scorer is not a first avenue of explanation.
