Two outings, same warning sign
Paris Saint-Germain lost 1-0 to Lens in the Trophee des Champions. Then they were pegged back to a 2-2 draw at Rennes on Sunday on the opening weekend of Ligue 1. Two results, one pattern.
The style has not shifted. High line, immediate press, a desire to own the ball. The trouble starts the second Paris lose it. At Lens the capital club controlled the game without ever turning it around, even with Kyllian Antonio sent off before the break. At Roazhon Park it was uglier still: 2-0 down at half-time, waiting for Ferran Torres to come on before any of it started to look salvageable.
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Luis Enrique’s verdict
The Spaniard did not dress it up. “For me, the match at Lens was very good. Today, no. In terms of tempo and effort, there is a big difference. To play away in Ligue 1, you have to be sharper, ready, otherwise you drop points. It is only the first game, but the whole team still needs to improve,” he said at full time.
The dilemma is not possession against transition. It is the exact moment the team switches from one to the other. Short distances when the ball goes, midfielders who can cover the gaps, defenders quick enough to guard the space in behind. All of which asks for peak physical condition, and in late August not every big name is anywhere near it.
Can the transfer market provide the fix?
The double European champions have a week to act. Before he left for Barcelona, Rodri ticked every box in that role: positioning, ground covered, duels won in the seconds after possession went, and the calm head needed when the counter-press does not bite. That option is gone.
Luis Campos has left the door open to other ideas lately. The message was probably received. PSG’s season turns on a narrow point: keep playing like a side that wants total control with the ball, without becoming one that loses control the moment it does not have it.
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