The world biggest club football competition was back this evening and Paris Saint-Germain shocked the world by trashing Luis Enrique’s Barcelona by a stunning 4-0 scoreline. The La Liga champions capitulated in some fashion as they suffered their worst loss since their defeat to Bayern Munich in 2013.
Birthday boys Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani scored a brace and a goal respectively as PSG routed the Catalans. Marco Verratti and Adrien Rabiot along with Blaise Matuidi dominated the Barcelona midfield while MSN remained ineffective for the majority of the game.
Iniesta’s first start in over a month was disappointing while PSG’s defence sprung a surprise with Presnel Kimpembe. Perhaps Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was the only player to have a good night for Barcelona in what was otherwise one of their worst nights in a decade. All this and more from today’s game in Paris:
#1 Luis Enrique might be on his way out this summer
A large section of Barcelona fans has been unhappy with Luis Enrique and his approach to the game. By splashing money on players rather than focusing on the club’s academy, he has been accused of tarnishing the club’s identity. And in the last couple of season, he has brandished for showing ineptitude regarding tactics.
Enrique seems to have a very superficial idea of his team’s approach to the game and has never been able to decide whether he wants them to dominate the midfield like Pep Guardiola did or switch to a direct style of play. By switching between the two, neither has the midfield been able to control games nor has the defence been good enough to absorb pressure from a counter attack.
Relying on the firepower of his front three to save the day, it was about time Enrique suffered a heavy defeat. Losses against Celta Vigo, Athletic Bilbao (in the Copa Del Rey) and Real Sociedad have been clear indicators of such a result being in the offing. With talks of a contract extension set to take place next month, this just be the final straw that breaks the came’s back.
#2 Presnel Kimpembe – Remember the name
Presnel Kimpembe has started for the Parisians before and has been in and around the team for the last two seasons. However, the 21-year-old will perhaps be remembered for years after an incredible performance against one of the best teams in the world tonight.
After impressing in the pre-season this year in the absence of Marquinhos (who was at the Olympics), the former left-back has now transformed into one of the most sought after centre-backs in the world. With one of the best defenders in the world at the moment – Thiago Silva missing, Kimpembe had big shoes to fill.
The youngster, however, not only matched but exceeded the expectations of his coach. The world’s best-attacking trio had no shot on target against the partnership of Kimpembe and Marquinhos.
#3 Angel Di Maria has the best night of his career while Messi perhaps the worst of his
It was a night of two different stories for the Argentines on either of the teams. Lionel Messi, the man who Barcelona always bank on to bail them out of difficult situations was completely outplayed by a combination of Matuidi, Rabiot, Kimpembe and Marquinhos. The Argentine was completely frustrated by the lack of space and was seen trying too much and too often on the night.
However, it is only natural for even the best player in the world to have an off night. On the other hand, Angel Di Maria was in scintillating form as the Argentine bagged a double to celebrate his 29th birthday. It was perhaps the greatest performance by the Argentine, who has always managed to turn up against Barcelona even during his Madrid days.
Di Maria scored a brilliant free-kick to open the scoring on the night while his second was a curler from outside the Barcelona penalty area was a peach of a goal. The Argentine was constantly threatening Barcelona and it's a shame he was substituted quite early in the game.
#4 Midfield domination is the key in PSG’s win
While all the praise might go to the front three of Julian Draxler, Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani for their goals that trashed Barcelona, the real thrashing actually took place in the centre of the pitch. The trio of Marco Verratti, Blaise Matuidi and Adrien Rabiot were certainly the heroes of the night for PSG.
Verratti is perhaps the best known of the three and certainly lived up to his reputation of controlling the midfield. The Italian’s distribution and movement were impeccable and outshined the role of Sergio Busquets.
Matuidi was fantastic in his tireless role while Rabiot showed great maturity to keep out Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi from attacking through the centre. A lapse from Andres Iniesta and a very poor game from Andre Gomes ensured that Barcelona could never recover from PSG’s clever tactics. Sergio Busquets who was perhaps the better of the three Barcelona midfield players was simply targetted too often by PSG and had no answer to their tactics.
#5 Unai Emery finally getting the better of Barcelona
PSG’s manager Unai Emery has been facing Barcelona for over a decade now as the coach of Almeria, Valencia, Sevilla and now Paris Saint-Germain. However, in his previous 23 games against the Catalans, Unai Emery only managed to win a single game - in the 2015-16 season.
Luis Enrique’s tactics have been questionable for quite a while and Unai Emery has clearly been one of the coaches who has managed to capitalise on this. Emery has always packed his midfield against Barcelona in order to leave the players struggling for space. This has been a feature even when he faced Barcelona as the coach of Sevilla.
The Barcelona manager has, in fact, had a better record against Emery as the coach of Celta Vigo – which was perhaps his best spells tactically (despite winning a treble with Barcelona). This stat simply goes to show the progress Emery has made over the last few years, or rather, the lack of progress on Luis Enrique’s behalf.
