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Luis Enrique’s baffling choices see PSG suffer disappointing defeat to Barcelona
It was a thrilling game between PSG and Barcelona last night, but of course not the result Luis Enrique’s side will have wanted as the visitors edged an open game 3-2. It was perhaps not quite the result many would have expected, and it was probably also not the kind of game many will have had down as such an open one that would end as a five-goal thriller.
It was almost multiple matches within one game, which was really intriguing. PSG started really well, buoyed by a great atmosphere at the Parc des Princes, but then Barca really took control in the first half, while PSG then flipped the game on its head early in the second half, with two goals in 134 seconds, which completely shifted the momentum of the game.
Barcelona then hit back again with a comeback of their own, and there were some sliding doors moments in there as well, particularly when Ousmane Dembele hit the post. But in general it left a lot of questions for PSG. It was not the best performance from the team, and particularly from Gianluigi Donnarumma – that’s not going to help him as he attempts to respond to the criticism he’s had, even though he’s mostly been in quite good form in the last couple of months.
But probably the one facing the most questions ahead of next week’s second leg will be Luis Enrique, because apart from the fact that Achraf Hakimi was out and had to be replaced by Marquinhos, who actually played quite solidly at right-back – it’s decisions elsewhere that will have raised eyebrows. Playing Lucas Hernandez on the right-hand side of central defence really didn’t work out at all, but to be fair to him that’s partly because Lucas Beraldo was in real difficulty for much of the match. Still, for Hernandez to then also be playing in a position he’s not really familiar with or been used in that often didn’t help PSG.
Enrique then made some in-game decisions to try and change these strange choices he made in his starting XI, with Marquinhos playing central in the second half, while Hernandez got moved to right-back, which is a bit baffling as he normally plays left-back. This completely destabilised the defence, so it’s not too surprising that the stand-out performer in PSG’s defence was Nuno Mendes, who made a very good block on the line from a Robert Lewandowski header.
The biggest surprise, however, was going without Warren Zaire-Emery from the start – obviously Enrique did bring him on in the second half, but it looks like a mistake not to start him. Ousmane Dembele also played out wide despite being used to quite good effect through the middle this season, while one of the most bizarre decisions of all was probably using Marco Asensio as a sort of wild card false-nine. He was then hooked at half time because it was not the most convincing performance from him, and I think all of that contributed towards Kylian Mbappe not really being able to get into the game, and it was one of the weakest performances of his season so far.
There were some bright spots, with Vitinha scoring and looking very good, but the result leaves PSG with a lot to do as they head to the Nou Camp for the second leg. Overall PSG probably aren’t out of this tie yet, and credit to Barcelona for a very good performance, but there are certainly questions there that need answering by Luis Enrique.
Vinicius Junior to PSG could be a realistic transfer for the future
There have been some reports linking Vinicius Junior with PSG and I’ve always said since the beginning that I could see there being a logical way for Real Madrid and PSG to potentially do business for Mbappe (while he was under contract) by essentially swapping Vinicius and Mbappe to take money out of the equation.
I don’t think that’s Real Madrid’s intention for the moment, however, I think Los Blancos want to combine the two players. It could be at some point, though, because of the position they both play on the pitch, that some kind of clash becomes inevitable. There won’t necessarily be tension, but there might be a conflict of interests between the two as they’ll both want the same spot in the starting XI.
A lot will depend on who the coach is – we know it will be Carlo Ancelotti when Mbappe joins this summer, but maybe in the longer term there’ll be a coaching change and that could see a system put into place that could accommodate both players.
If Vinicius were to become available at any point, I think PSG would be very interested, but I don’t think they’d want him in a scenario where they’d have to pay for Vinicius, having lost Mbappe on a free transfer. I think PSG would prefer an exchange, but obviously at this moment in time that doesn’t look likely with Mbappe’s contract expiring, and it doesn’t seem like Vini Jr’s star is on the wane at Real Madrid, certainly not enough for him to be used in an exchange deal.
At the same time, there might be a moment when Vinicius might consider a move – we know his agent has spoken about the Premier League in the past – so he could perhaps be open to becoming a star name in PSG, a club that has historically had great success with Brazilian players.
I don’t think it’s an unrealistic prospect at some point in the future, but for the moment nothing is happening – it doesn’t seem like the scenario is going to open itself up. That could change, but I don’t think this one is on the cards at all imminently.
How William Saliba can work his way into the France starting XI
It’s been a difficult time for William Saliba with an unconvincing mid-week performance for Arsenal against Bayern, which follows an interesting recent incident with him while he was on France duty, with Didier Deschamps suggesting he has some issues with his game and doesn’t currently view him as a starter in his side.
Part of what I think Deschamps is getting at with Saliba is that there are some moments where his judgement isn’t the best, and his decisions seem a bit rushed, leading to the wrong choice at the end. It reminds me of Aymeric Laporte, who was so often overlooked by France, eventually leading to him choosing to represent Spain instead, much to the bemusement of many fans and pundits alike.
These decisions are not entirely technical, some of it is to do with players’ personalities. What some people lose sight of and perhaps take for granted is the amount of work Deschamps has had to do to turn France into a really united and strong team. In order to do that sometimes he has to sacrifice talented players who aren’t necessarily a good fit for the group.
That’s not to say Saliba isn’t a good fit for the group, but it could be that where Deschamps wants him to improve is more with what he does away from the pitch, rather than on it. I think Saliba can force his way into Deschamps’ plans because some of the players ahead of him, like Dayot Upamecano for example, are not that convincing when they’re given the chance. Then Ibrahima Konate at Liverpool isn’t always guaranteed to be fit, so there are some gaps there.
I just think Saliba needs to show the same kind of maturity and professionalism off the pitch as he has done off it since returning to Arsenal after a couple of loan spells.
Manu Kone transfer looks more likely this summer, and his asking price could go down
Manu Kone is a name coming up again after we saw him linked with Liverpool last summer, and now with Arsenal as they look for a midfielder ahead of the next transfer window. He’s a name that pops up quite often for top European clubs, so it’s not surprising to see him making headlines again.
In terms of links with Arsenal specifically, I think it’s early days yet but they’re certainly one of a number of clubs keeping an eye on him. I know there are other clubs in the Premier League who are interested, and some clubs in Ligue 1 who’d be keen to bring him back to France as well.
Kone is a player of interest and is probably someone who will be on the move this summer. It’s something that’s been discussed now for quite a while as he seems to have outgrown Borussia Monchengladbach, while the club too probably need something of a more far-reaching transitional period than the one that we’ve already seen. So I don’t think it’s impossible that they’ll look to cash in on Kone and rebuild so they can become more than just a mid-table team as they are at the moment, and look to get back more towards the European places.
It’s not the first time Kone has been on the radar of several top clubs, but I’d say it’s more likely he’ll move this summer than in previous years. It also seems likely that the under-performance of Gladbach this year probably also means Kone’s asking price won’t be quite as daunting as it has been in the past to the teams who’ve looked at him before. He could now be seen more as representing good value for money.
This is the way you invent a story. Arsenal are said to be on Manu Koné ??