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“The situation is both pleasing and irritating,” says Luis Enrique. The French club's coach has a complicated relationship with how his squad's league matches play out. Whenever the Parisians play, one team goes forward and the other sits back. “Breaking down deep defenses appeals to me,” he insists. “I have the most experience with this tactical scenario. I appreciate the diversity of football approaches. It is a different kind of football from ours, it’s atypical, but I understand and accept it.”

Dealing with deep defenses is unavoidable for PSG; it's their constant situation, because of the skill gap created by financial imbalance. Their quality typically shines through and the resistance is overcome with varying degrees of difficulty. But it has been tougher this season.

Control of the Ball But Poor Output

PSG have averaged over 72% ball control in the French league so far this campaign. Facing Nice in their recent match, they had over 76% possession and made 760 passes, versus just Nice's 182. By half-time, the Portuguese midfielder had 90 touches of the ball – merely six short than the complete opposition side – but PSG struggled to make their domination tell. When the whistle blew for the interval, Nice defender Juma Bah, whose goal-bound attempt was blocked by his teammate, had nearly scored.

And this game isn’t an outlier. They had shared points in 75% of their recent Ligue 1 games. With 71% ball control against the visiting team, but were dependent on a late Senny Mayulu equaliser to salvage a point. Even with 77% possession against their midweek opponents in midweek, they found the net only once and were finally tied. Approximately 33% of the way into the season, PSG are ranked fifth for goals in Ligue 1 – trailing multiple domestic rivals.

Strike Force Struggles

This stems from the particular attention that PSG receive, but also indicates a real issue. Their attackers are struggling. Their star forward's 29 scores last season helped PSG win Ligue 1 and the continental trophy; A young forward scored 14 occasions in the league; Another offensive player hit 16 total goals; and The Georgian international scored eight goals after his winter transfer.

Dembélé won the golden ball and, while it is contestable that the French star is indeed the global standout, it is challenging to deny that he was not the best player of the last season. He's recorded merely five goals in 12 games this season. He encountered a thigh issue while on national team service in early autumn, which gave rise to a blame game between PSG and the national squad that has seen the relationship between the two institutions deteriorate. Dembélé missed around six weeks of action as a result, but he still doesn’t look right. Post-match against their rivals, he was seen touching his muscle. “It hurts so much,” he told fellow player Hakimi.

Injury Concerns

Luis Enrique says their star can play to face the German giants this week in the continental tournament but, while he gets back up to speed, teammates must contribute. Sadly, Doué is unavailable. The promising talent was also injured in recently. He was returning to his best when he was affected by another muscle issue, which is projected to sideline him until next month. Their winger is a massive asset to his team but he often saves his best performances for the important matches in the European stage; he is still without a goal in Ligue 1 this season. Barcola, PSG’s leading marksman in all competitions this season, has just one goal in his last eight games and is in a fallow period. A player who scores in bursts, the form will certainly come back, but he can’t be expected to be the goalscorer in this costly PSG attack.

The Portuguese striker found the match-winner against Nice but will he remain in the lineup in the team?

That was the job assigned to their striker when he signed in 2023. Their number nine hit the century of 100 matches for PSG against Nice, but he has started on the sidelines in more than half of those appearances. Having scored nearly half his total after coming on as a substitute, he has effectively embraced the role of the “impact player”, partly because of his ineffectiveness when selected, but mostly due to his boss's unwillingness to field a out-and-out forward. “What explains my bench scoring record? Basically because I come off the bench more than I start,” quipped Ramos after the match.

Decisive Period

With the goals drying up across the frontline, his late decisive goal has given his coach something to consider. Their number nine was unsuccessful with earlier attempts before taking his fourth and securing the victory, but the fact that the team's clearest openings were created for him is significant. He’s an instinctive poacher and that is what PSG were investing in when they paid substantial money. “He's a crucial squad member for us because he is always ready for every match, whether he starts or not,” said their coach. “Short cameos from the striker are quality minutes.” Perhaps now is the opportunity for the impact substitute to play a starring role.

French League Matches

• Rennes 4-1 Strasbourg
• Lens 3-0 Lorient
• Lille 1-0 Angers
• Nantes 0-2 Metz
• Toulouse 0-0 Le Havre
• Brest 0-0 Lyon
• PSG 1-0 Nice
• Monaco 0-1 Paris FC
• Auxerre 0-1 Marseille

Current Rankings

Position	Team	Played	Goal Difference	Points
1	PSG	11	12	24
2	Marseille	11	14	22
3	Lens	11	7	22
4	Lille	11	10	20
5	Monaco	11	6	20
6	Lyon	11	4	20
7	Strasbourg	11	6	19
8	Nice	11	0	17
9	Toulouse	11	2	15
10	Rennes	11	1	15
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