Wednesday evening, PSG won convincingly against Chelsea in the Champions League round of 16 first leg (5-2). A fine result that bore the hallmark of Luis Enrique.
Struggling since the start of the season, PSG delivered a very strong performance against Chelsea on Wednesday evening in the Champions League round of 16 first leg (5-2). This convincing victory bears the signature of Luis Enrique.
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As reported by Le Parisien, the Parisian coach prepared this round of 16 tie perfectly, like a researcher in a laboratory: meticulous, precise, and obsessive.
“He had to be sure of the physical condition of his men to decide to assign Achraf Hakimi to man-mark Enzo Fernandez, to put Vitinha on Reece James and Joao Neves on Cole Palmer, thus leaving Marquinhos to cover the right side with the support of Warren Zaïre-Emery, who didn’t always succeed in providing cover.”
Joao Neves, returning from injury, managed to neutralize Cole Palmer, the Parisian daily assures. “Impressive in his ability to repeat efforts, from the 1st to the 90th minute, he didn’t leave the English attacker’s side, preventing him from making a big difference between the center and the right wing. His match served as a reminder of how essential he is to this team, an irreplaceable engine.”
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PSG also rediscovered what was their greatest strength last season: intense pressing, starting from the opponent’s 16 meters, Le Parisien claims. The reigning European champions showed great concentration and mental strength that allowed them not to doubt at the moments of equalizers by Malo Gusto and Enzo Fernandez, the Parisian outlet analyzes.
Seeing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia start on the bench may have seemed surprising, given his contribution in big games. It turned into a winning bet.
Against Chelsea, his principles of play and his identity were respected, delivering the ingredients for a round-of-16 tie with the flavor of a fairy tale. The job remains to be finished next Tuesday at Stamford Bridge, Le Parisien concludes.
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