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1) Paris Saint-Germain are far stronger for having a fit Thiago Motta
Much has changed for PSG in the last 12 months. At the beginning of the season, Laurent Blanc outlined his hope that PSG would become more of a dominant team, bossing possession and always looking to attack. That has come to pass.
PSG have had an average of 63.8% of the ball in Ligue 1 games this season, and much of that control of matches can be attributed to the excellent form of Thiago Motta in midfield. The Brazilian-born Italy midfielder started just 11 times in 2012/13, but he has already played 16 Ligue 1 matches this season, and was suspended for one of the remaining three – PSG’s ability to keep him fit has been crucial.
Motta’s experience is key. At 31, he is the elder statesman of the regular midfield three by five clear years ahead of Blaise Matuidi (26) and Marco Verratti (21), and has been metronomic, completing a staggering 93.4% of his passes.
His presence has started to calm Verratti, who has received 5 bookings in 16 games, but this compares favourably with the 10 yellows he was shown in 23 starts last season. The young Italian has also been liberated creatively to deliver 4 assists, already equalling his total from the whole of the last campaign. The steady Motta is the unsung hero.
2) A strong defence is worth more than a lively attack
Lille’s soar into the top three has been unprecedented. Given the summer sales of Dmitri Payet and Florian Thauvin to Marseille, it appeared clear which way the wind was blowing and that new coach René Girard would be leading a season of consolidation. Instead, Les Dogues have an astounding 40 points at the halfway stage, thanks mainly to their defence, which has conceded just 8 times in 19 matches.
Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama’s stellar form has been widely noted; curiously, he communicates in English with centre-backs Simon Kjaer and Marko Basa. The resurgent Kjaer makes 2.1 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game, while Basa commits an average of only 0.6 fouls per match.
The top two, PSG and Monaco, occupy the place of joint second-best defence, with 13 conceded each, while the most successful of the newly-promoted teams, Nantes, have let in just 17 in their opening 19 matches.
All of surprise packages Nantes’ top four performing players, according to WhoScored’s ratings, are defenders. The leading pair, Papy Djilobodji and Issa Cissokho (7.5 and 7.25 respectively), have been ever-present while a fifth, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo was named by beIN Sport pundit Luis Fernandez in his team of the season so far this weekend.
The two teams with the worst defences, Ajaccio and Sochaux (40 and 38 goals conceded respectively), occupy the bottom two spots in the division, while third top-scorers Lyon languish in 10th, having let in a hefty 29.
3) 4-4-2 isn’t dead after all
Despite PSG ditching the system that worked so well for them in the latter part of Ancelotti’s reign in favour of a 4-3-3, this much-maligned tactical plan is alive and kicking on the fields of France. Claudio Ranieri’s Monaco have become its most celebrated exponents this season – though Lyon has also used it in recent weeks – despite beginning the campaign in a more vogue-ish 4-2-3-1.
It appeared to be an unlikely prospect at the Stade Louis II when young wingers Lucas Ocampos and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco were in such sparkling form in the season’s opening weeks, but the pair haven’t started since the draw with Evian in early November. The following week’s win at Nantes saw Ranieri adopt a milieu en losange– or midfield diamond.
He had the ideal anchor for it in Jérémy Toulalan, with James Rodriguez perfectly suited to the number 10 role, making an impressive 2.9 key passes per game as well as 7 assists to date. The pair are Monaco’s top two performers on WhoScored, and it is little coincidence that all of James’ three goals have been scored since the switch. Flanking them, both Mounir Obbadi and João Moutinho are adaptable enough to cover the inside channels.
The only question for Monaco is whether they stick with the diamond when Radamel Falcao returns. Emmanuel Rivière (8 goals in 10 starts) and the teenager Anthony Martial have thrived, but El Tigre started just one match in the system, at Nantes – and was withdrawn after his lowest-rating match of the season (5.5).
4) Two playmakers can play together
Another attribute of the midfield diamond is allowing more central players freedom to express themselves. This has certainly been the case at Lyon since their own move to this system, with Clément Grenier and Yoann Gourcuff proving they can thrive together in the same team.
For a long time, many at Lyon doubted that this could be the case, and it was this thinking that strongly influenced the August 2011 sale of Miralem Pjanic to Roma. Last season, coach Remi Garde wasn’t often required to consider the possibility; Gourcuff has frequently been injured since arriving at the Gerland in 2010, and started only 15 Ligue 1 matches in 2012/13.
Those physical frailties haven’t totally gone away, but Gourcuff has been productive when he has played this season. In 8 league starts, he has scored twice and created another 5. Only PSG’s Lucas Moura creates anywhere near as frequently in the division, with 5 assists (and 3 goals) in 9 starts.
The real satisfaction for Garde is that Gourcuff and Grenier are dovetailing effectively. To incorporate them both in the final stanza of last season, the coach shoehorned Gourcuff into an unfamiliar position on the left, but both players now patrol central areas. It works, with Gourcuff assisting 2 of Grenier’s 3 goals so far, most notably the latter’s sensational strike at Lorient on Sunday. If the pair can continue their current success, Lyon may yet make a meaningful contribution to this Ligue 1 season.
