SEVEN POINTS FROM PSG’s 4-2 win over BARCA:
1- As I pointed out several times this season, Barca’s big weakness is their defence. PSG’s 4th goal captured that best. Hakimi gets in at the back of Barca’s defence, whips in the ball and Cancelo loses sight of Ruiz who taps in. Joan Garcia saved Barca many times from embarrassment.
2- Barca still shows signs of anxiety on the biggest occasions, as has been the case in yesteryears. This was seen through the unexplained misplaced passes. Lamine’s poor ball led to PSG’s first.
3- Just like Barca, PSG are beatable. They are not as daring as they were two seasons back. Now they apply more of experience. They seem to know when to rest and when to attack but they definitely look vulnerable in defensive phases. Barca, just like Man City last week, found space in brilliant positions to punish the Parisians but lacked finesse.
4- Lamine Yamal lived up to his hype. He didn’t have his best game overall but his goal had greatness written all over it.
5- There are question marks on PSG’s squad depth. While the first 11 is a machine, the bench isn’t quite that.
6- No team exploits spaces near the box better than PSG. Countless times we have seen their midfielders and attackers pull the trigger on the edge of the area to make the difference in big games.
7- To defeat Barca, be ready to score, and score and score again because they’ll likely sneak in a couple with the quality they have upfront.
Dr Ade Divine