PSG v Chelsea: Leg 1 Tactical Analysis
By Steven Agen and Ed Pham
Paris Saint Germain and Chelsea played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie. In a rematch of last year’s fixture at the quarterfinal stage of the tournament, it was Chelsea again who came away with a crucial road goal. Jose Mourinho set up his men in a 4-3-3, as did Laurent Blanc. The similarities tended to end there, as Chelsea was content to sit back and absorb pressure for the majority of the match. Interestingly enough, they were similar in both displaying an apathy for attack when presented with the chance to counter.
PSG (left) against Chelsea, or, how to abandon central midfield
The main surprise pre-kickoff for PSG was the role reversal of Marquinhos and David Luiz. For the first time this season, Luiz sat deep in the center of Blanc’s midfield three while Marquinhos paired with Thiago Silva at center back. In his first match against his former club, it all felt a little like the Twilight Zone with the unexpected tactical shift.
Blanc was limited in his selection, with Javier Pastore still not 100% fit upon returning from injury. To make matters worse for the home side, PSG were forced to lay a league match over the weekend; Chelsea had the luxury of a six day rest before their Parisian adventure.
First Half
The first half was a typically cagey affair. It was characterized by each side dropping all ten men behind the ball when defending. Going forward, David Luiz sat remarkably deep, sometimes falling between Thiago Silva and Marquinhos, while Maxwell and Van Der Wiel pressed forward into a 3-4-3 at times, as illustrated here:
Also of note was the starting position of Marco Verratti. In the first half, he stayed much more central than he would in the second. This led to effective movement of the ball for PSG, resulting in 6 shots in the first 45 against 1 for Chelsea.
Chelsea, despite their extremely limited forward impetus, took a 1-0 lead into the break. Their indifference towards attack (or, rather, their focus on defense) manifested itself in no clearer terms than following a deep Chelsea throw midway through the half. With at least four teammates ahead of him, and Cesar Azpilicueta wide open, Nemanja Matic opted to drop the ball back towards midfield to avoid giving up a costly counter. Look at how open Azpilicueta is- Chelsea’s caution can’t be understated.
Azpilicueta open on the left, with Matic turning away from him to drop the ball deeper off to his right.
Their cynicism was surprising rewarded with a goal on 36 minutes. Following a dead ball situation on the right side, a cross fell to John Terry’s feet on the left. With Chelsea’s biggest aerial threat outside the box with the ball at his feet and only three attackers in the box, PSG looked fine defensively. That is, until Marquinhos and Cavani combined to utterly ignore Gary Cahill in the center of the 18. His flick found the head of Ivanovic, who put the visitors in front.
Criminal defending from Marquinhos and Cavani.
Tactically speaking, the only other talking point of the first half was the emergence of the main theme of the second. With rampant possession, PSG curiously began to ignore the center of the park in exchange for emphasis on the wings. The massive gap left in the middle was a fixture of PSG’s shape as the game wore on. Here’s the most glaring example of the misuse of this space in the first half:
With no PSG player present in the entire bubble, Chelsea’s front three were free to pressure the ball and the options immediately available to Thiago Silva. This made life easy for the Londoners. Blanc’s growing insistence on playing through the wings turned out to be an all-out gamble that didn’t pay off until later in the game.
Second Half
In the second half, Chelsea made no changes to the lineup, while PSG moved Lavezzi over to the left wing; Cavani moved to a central position next to Ibrahimovic.
PSG’s insistence on double marking Hazard turned into fouling him frequently. He ended the game with nine fouls, more than any other player in the game. The cynical approach worked as it continued to limit his contribution to Chelsea’s attack. Nearly every touch of the ball ended with him being fouled or forced to drop back to a defender. It was indicative of the defensive nature of both teams throughout the game.
Even with the 1-0 lead, Chelsea chose to sit back and defend rather than attack, as seen with only three attacking players on a set piece.
PSG deservedly equalized in an otherwise dull second half. Similar to Chelsea’s goal, a relative innocuous situation turned into a deadly one, with only Cavani and Ibrahimovic posing a threat in the box. A combination of three Chelsea defenders were positioned near Cavani; they watched as Cavani received a point-perfect cross from Matuidi from the left wing that he headed into the back of the net. Courtois couldn’t save Chelsea this time.
Cavani and Ibrahimovic were the only two PSG attackers, who were surrounded by five Chelsea defenders.
Their insistence on wing play on the left flank from the first half finally paid off, as their aversion to playing through the center continued. However, continued heroics from Courtois would continue to stave off PSG’s chances, which featured two more key saves in the last 15 minutes of the game.
PSG continued to utilize the left wing and abandon the middle of the pitch in the second half, as seen here.
Chelsea’s willingness to allow PSG to play the wing continued to cause problems defensively when Pastore came on. He played effectively through the center in a way Lavezzi simply couldn’t. His vision and creativity created chances for PSG. Ibrahimovic began exploiting the space between Chelsea’s midfield and defense during this time, which created another huge chance that was saved by Courtois. In the end, it was too little, too late for PSG, whose game plan based around Ibrahimovic and wide play yielded only one goal.
It was a match that never quite opened up, and petered out quietly in the end. With all to play for in the second leg, one must wonder if the smaller pitch of Stamford Bridge will encourage the French side to utilize the center of the park earlier on. Certainly, Chelsea will feature a different look after they shocked even themselves by stealing a road goal. Will David Luiz drop back to his natural role in defense? Can Lavezzi (or a healthy Pastore) help link PSG’s play through the center? Will Thibaut Courtois be called upon to save Chelsea again, as he did in this match? We’ll get our answers in two weeks’ time, and hopefully a more attacking-oriented match with it.
