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In the run-up to Paris Saint-Germain’s visit to Monaco, Claudio Ranieri’s playful demeanour recalled his jocular missives from behind the desk in the training ground press conference room at Chelsea a decade before. The content of his words, however, owed more to the current man in charge at Stamford Bridge as he attempted to recast his expensively assembled side as minnows.
“The most important things for us are the matches against Nice (in the Coupe de France) and at Bastia,” said Ranieri from under raised eyebrows. “It’s a big match, and it’s good for seeing what a difference there is between us and a great PSG. It’s a match for the fans, for everyone, for you (the media), but for us, it won’t change anything. For us, it’ll be a good experience for our young ones to see how we play against extra-terrestrials.”
No matter, of course, that those “young ones” included 22-year-old James Rodriguez (purchased for €45m from Porto) and one of La Liga’s best midfielders of 2012/13, 20-year-old Geoffrey Kondogbia (a relatively modest €20m) – and the latter only made the bench. Ligue 2 champions Monaco are a side equipped like no promoted team before them, even if they are missing the injured Radamel Falcao. Entering a division with a bevy of illustrious rivals (Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux) in a state of flux, the ground was ripe for a revolution, and for the Principality club to join PSG in pulling away from the rest.
Ranieri was at least correct to acknowledge a gap between his charges and those of Laurent Blanc, even if he used exaggerated terms to do so. After Sunday night’s 1-1 draw at the Stade Louis II the gap between the top two remains at five points, and it could easily be more in PSG’s favour.
The first half of the match, in particular, underlined that gap. It was always clear that Monaco would have to mentally adjust to having less of the ball than was habitual against the side who have the most possession in Ligue 1 – Ranieri’s side average 56.7% per match, and only PSG (in the away fixture), Marseille and Toulouse have dominated possession against them this season.
Yet PSG’s early lead, given to them by Javier Pastore, paved the way to a lesson in control. The outstanding ball retention capability of Blanc’s midfield three is the key to their ability to dictate the tempo of games and so it proved again. Blaise Matuidi finished the night with a 91% pass accuracy, with Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta succeeding with 89% and 87% respectively.
In Motta’s case, it was a way short of his season figure of 92.6%. Given that Yohan Cabaye – used to fulfilling a more advanced role with Newcastle this season – has an 83.3% rate from his two substitute appearances to date, it is clear the former Premier League star has some work to do to get up to speed with PSG’s relentless culture of success.
There was a sense too that this pinnacle among domestic challenges was bringing a little bit more out of PSG than they have given in recent weeks. Their normally peerless defence has looked surprisingly fallible lately, with the clean sheet in the previous Ligue 1 game against Bordeaux only their second in their previous 12 outings in all competitions. Here, Salvatore Sirigu was well protected. Monaco had 16 efforts at goal but only 3 on target, with PSG’s players blocking 10 of their shots; captain Thiago Silva, performing admirably, blocked 4 himself.
One could have been forgiven, however, for thinking that Ranieri’s coup de bluff had gone a bit too far. In changing the team’s normal midfield diamond into a flat one (also within a 4-4-2), he neutered his side in the first half, although his idea was presumably to protect his attacking full-backs while allowing room for both James and the teenager Lucas Ocampos in the team.
Why he performed the switch perhaps only became apparent in the second half of the match, with right-back Fabinho making the most of plentiful space down the PSG left to set up his team’s equaliser, turned into his own net by the unfortunate Silva.
James, Monaco’s main creator, had been stationed on the right in the first half and there had been space to exploit had he been more plentifully fed. 46% of PSG’s attacks were down the left and with Maxwell not often covered, with Pastore’s tendency to drift inside, the way had been open. Ultimately, it was a lack of tracking back by Jérémy Ménez, Pastore’s second-half replacement, which allowed Fabinho his opportunity.
We should applaud Ranieri for recognising his mistake – Kondogbia replaced Ocampos at the break, with James slipping into the number 10 position – though he may look back and reflect that it was an opportunity missed. James, the joint-highest assist provider in the division along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with 9, had one of his quieter nights. His 1 key pass and 1 shot was way short of his season averages of 2.8 apiece.
In the circumstances, PSG may feel that the opportunity to kill the title race for good was missed. Blanc’s changes were considerably less effective than his old mentor Ranieri’s. The thinking was sound, with Ménez’s pace presumably supposed to stretch the game, but Pastore’s ability to get the ball and keep it – the Argentinian registered an impressive 92% pass accuracy from 50 passes – would have been an asset in closing out the game. Ezequiel Lavezzi had little time to impress after replacing Lucas Moura, but offered none of the Brazilian’s dribbling threat (Lucas completed a match-high 4).
Both of these sides have bigger challenges to come; sealing a Champions League place for Monaco, and going deep into the same competition in PSG’s case. In the event, their respective imperfections in this match could be a timely reminder of what’s needed to achieve those objectives.
