Tactical Preview: Can PSG Eliminate Monaco from the Champions League?
This week’s Champions League play off second legs sees AS Monaco visit Paris Saint-Germain looking to overturn a 3-2 deficit from the first leg of the tie. What will be PSG’s setup in the second leg in terms of tactical plan and formation?
In the first leg, PSG lined up in a 4-3-3 which shifted into a 3-2-5 or three-box-three formation in possession with back three of Nuno Mendes-Marquinhos-Willian Pacho and a double pivot of Achraf Hakimi and Warren Zaïre-Emery, whilst the front five was made up of João Neves and Vitinha as the two “free” 8’s, Ousmane Dembélé as the centre forward, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola as the two wingers holding the width high and wide to stretch the play.
Until Monaco had a player (Aleksandr Golovin) sent off, PSG looked sluggish and slow and lacked the fluid movement and incisive passing that made them so good and so feared across Europe last season. One thing that is for certain is that PSG manager Luis Enrique will have noticed this about his team and will be determined that this does not happen again at the Parc de Princes in Paris.
Monaco on the other hand may have to setup in a slightly different manner to the first leg because of injuries during the games between the first leg and the second leg, and as such, they could set up in a 3-5-2 or a 3-1-4-2 when they are in possession of the ball which then becomes a compact 5-3-2 mid or low block when they lose possession of the ball. How interesting the tie is from a purely footballing perspective, however, hinges on which team scores first.
If PSG score first, then they’ll probably use their nous and game management skills to see out the tie at 4-2. If Monaco score first however the aggregate score becomes 3-3 and the tie effectively becomes 0-0 again as the away goals rule has been scrapped. Paris Saint Germain however will want to start the game with a high tempo and plenty of rotations of movement in possession to force Monaco back into a low block and ratchet up the pressure on their opponents.
The way that PSG would do this is by setting up in a 3-2-2-3 in possession with Lucas Hernandez sitting narrow alongside Marquinhos and Willan Pacho to form a back three whilst Achraf Hakimi comes infield to form a double pivot alongside youngster Warren Zaïre-Emery in the midfield.
Meanwhile Vitinha and João Neves will push up on to the last line as the two “free 8’s” whilst Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doué stretch the play out wide. It is worth noting that Doué has been handed something of a free role by Enrique with licence to move between the lines, and then linking the play when centre forward Dembélé peels off from his position to join up with Neves and Vitinha.
When this happens, PSG look to be in something of a 3-1-6. The key thing for PSG is that once they have got the ball into the final third, they move it quickly. If they can do this, then Monaco will likely find it extremely difficult to cope with their tactical and technical quality over the full ninety minutes of the second leg. Make no mistake: this Paris Saint Germain team is still very much the best team in Europe and on their day, they will make light work of any opponent.
By: Benedict Flanagan / @ben366486451371
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Getty Images