Against Dortmund, Luis Enrique’s PSG once again encountered too many difficulties with the long ball. Why is that?
In both matches against Barca in the quarterfinals of the 2023/24 Champions League, PSG had difficulty holding the ball for long periods of time. PSG are undeniably one of the most aggressive attacking teams in this year’s competition – no team wins the ball back quicker than them – but that can leave space at the back if the first pass Theirs is not sharp or precise.
Xavi realized this and used Robert Lewandowski as his bridge. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barca’s goalkeeper, made the majority of his passes to the Polish striker, and Lewy himself in turn was able to draw his wingers into play. PSG defender Lucas Beraldo had a particularly difficult match, losing 5 duels on long balls.
Dembele’s poor passes created opportunities for Dortmund to have the ball and then spread it long
Dortmund clearly learned lessons from those matches. Therefore, coach Edin Terzic used Niclas Fullkrug in a similar way. There were early warning signs that PSG would fall into Dortmund’s trap again, as Marcel Sabitzer made a run from the right flank to receive a long pass from Ian Maatsen, but luckily for PSG, the pass did not reach its intended target.
Dortmund did not start as well as Barca, as Fullkrug couldn’t challenge PSG’s defense. But then, they got a goal that turned the game around. Nico Schlotterbeck escaped Kylian Mbappe’s backward tracking and took advantage of the second space to head the ball past PSG’s defense for Fullkrug to finish.
That goal conceded was extremely simple but it showed that PSG is vulnerable to long balls. They constantly struggled with the home team’s long passes in the first half, allowing Julian Ryerson ample time to launch the ball forward or taking too long to execute an accurate direct pass. That’s exactly what happened with the opening goal.
One of the long balls was successfully used by Fullkrug
When facing a long ball from Dortmund, PSG’s defensive line and long-range defensive system are easily broken, chaotic, and unprepared to deal with a run behind and put Gianluigi Donnarumma’s goal in danger. Too many times at Signal Iduna Park, the Italian goalkeeper or PSG’s two defenders had to face quick counter-attacks with Dortmund outnumbering them.
PSG may be the better pressing team, possessing more ball possession, but simple mistakes are still undermining their strengths. Just controlling and lingering outside the penalty area, or inefficient finishing, without decoding Dortmund’s long balls, Lucho’s team will miss the opportunity to reach the Champions League final this season.
And of course, the return match at Parc des Princes midweek promises many difficulties for PSG.