Kylian Mbappe is unexpectedly injured and could miss three weeks of injury and miss the first leg of the Champions League knockout round against Bayern. However, without him, Paris pay more attention to Messi's rhythm and ball habits in terms of playing style, and there is an improvement in the whole.
Especially after firmly controlling the midfield, the team played more details in positional battles. Compared to Mbappe's gallop, will a finer Messi-style ball combination make Paris stronger?
01. When Kylian Mbappe is on the pitch: He dominates the attacking tempo of Paris
Love hitting the wall: Mbappe hones his trick in positional warfare
The Paris match against Montpellier used a 4132 formation, placing four tightened midfielders in the middle behind Messi and Mbappe, while handing the attacking width of both wings to Mendes and Ashraf, two physically good wingers.
When Mbappe plays, the pace of the attack is determined by him. After he left the field, the Paris attack began to revolve around Messi, scoring three goals in a row in the second half and playing at a good level.
Mbappe has said he wants a centre-forward because he's getting used to pulling back and taking the ball himself.
Because Messi is not suitable to play against the central defender in the front position, Soler in the forward position has done some of this work.
However, Mbappe's efficiency in hitting the wall is not very high, he tries this way of playing, but also with Messi, Neymar used to playing like this, he wants to dominate the overall rhythm, so "learn" this style of play.
This time Soler did it back, Mbappe lost control of the ball after entering the box, but fortunately the opponent's counterattack was unsuccessful.
b. Without Mbappe: Paris loses starting efficiency
Statistically, Mbappe has 13.3 expected goals in Ligue 1 this season, but has actually scored only 13 goals and missed 14 great scoring chances.
Only 2 of the 4 penalty shoots were scored (2 penalties in this game, but only 1 was counted in the statistics), but the overall goal conversion rate of 17% is still acceptable (1 goal in 6 shots).
Mbappe's value is that he has a really good starting speed, and this time he took the ball and turned over the person is an example of this. However, in Paris, the most suitable is for Neymar to speed up in the middle circle and Kylian Mbappe to rush into the box.
After all, Mbappe is still very dependent on speed, and after passing the first line of defense, if he loses the space to continue accelerating, he can not do much.
Mbappe is indispensable in the Champions League because if he is absent, Paris will still need to add a striker. As a result, the team's defensive numbers did not increase, but the speed of counter-attacks slowed down.
02. Tactical center replaces Kylian Mbappe: Paris plays more Messi
a. Paris had a clear advantage in the second half: expected to score 8 times more goals than their opponents
From the statistics, Paris Saint-Germain not only scored three goals in the second half, but also expected to score 3.1 to 0.4 ahead of the opponent, and led 12-5 in the number of shots on goal.
When Ekitik comes on, he picks up the ball on the left and right wings at the first point, leading his teammates to follow.
Because his speed is slower than Mbappe's, and his individual ability is also inferior, he should use the full-back to follow up, which is conducive to Messi's follow-up. At the same time, Ekitik will also complete more off-ball cover runs to allow Messi to get the ball in a more comfortable position.
After splitting the ball on the wing, Ekitik completed a forward cover to make it easier for Mendes to pass back to Messi.
It can be clearly seen from the GIF that compared to Mbappe's gallop, Ekitik, who has poor personal ability, will naturally play more holistically.
With such a counter-attacking rhythm, Messi will be more comfortable. After taking the ball, he saw Ekitik go to the right, and Messi dribbled the ball to the left and shot on goal, posing a great threat.
b. Young Ekitik: Shooting efficiency needs to be improved
Ekitik's problem is that his shooting efficiency is still on the low side, but he passes and moves well.
He made 21 successful passes in 22 games and created one great scoring chance. Although it is not very impressive, it integrates well into the team.
Ekitik still pays attention to cooperating with his teammates during the game. This time Ashraf didn't score single-handedly, and Ekitik's first header was crossed to allow Ruiz to score a shot that broke the deadlock and changed the course of the game.
03. Messi shoots 9 times in a single game: the tactic is opposite!
a. 9 shots on goal in a single game! Messi is comfortable playing like this
As you can see from the statistics, Messi completed a total of 9 shots in this game, 8 of which occurred after Mbappe came off.
In addition to this, Messi also contributed 2 key passes that brought shots, as well as 3 passes and 7 wins on the ground one-on-one confrontation.
Ekitique still receives the ball more on the left, he takes the ball and crosses back into the middle, and the advantage of the Paris midfield gives Messi more opportunities to move and receive without the ball.
In particular, there will always be a midfielder who is ahead of Messi in the box and can also attract the attention of central defenders.
And after Ekitik passes, he has a good habit of continuing to move, which can also attract a lot of defensive attention.
After the technical transformation of the Paris midfield, more and more people can send wonderful passes, and the rhythm between them and Messi is more and more in harmony.
The goal came from a counter-attack, with Alexis Sanchez pushing the ball forward and Ekitik's cross back inward, both laying the groundwork for Messi to enter the box.
In the end, Ruiz's brilliant pass allowed Messi to score a milestone goal that surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo.
b. The tactics revolve around him: Paris smells of plum
With the first leg of the Champions League knockout round to go in less than two weeks, Mbappe could miss three weeks injured.
If he misses Bayern due to injury, it will have a big impact on the team. So will Paris, which has a more plum style, perform better?
Looking at this attack again, when Messi took the ball, Emery in front of him walked to the flank, while Sanchez behind him accelerated to run, just to give Messi a smooth road.
Compared with Mbappe's one-man starting speed, Messi's teammates around him should have better integrity.
When Messi attacked the core area, Sanchez had already completed the back position in front of the box, while Ruiz also cut in on the back of the left wing.
Paris Saint-Germain's attack will be a little more complicated in terms of overall movement, but it can also be seen to be more integrated.
Unfortunately, Sanchez did it back, and Messi's shot from the front of the box was slightly deflected. However, Messi did get more support from the team in the game.
Conclusion:
In the next Champions League, whether or not Mbappe will be a completely different situation for Paris. Fortunately, Bayern are also full of injuries, and many main players such as Mane and Neuer will also be absent, which will be an opportunity for Messi and Paris.
Who said Barça were afraid of Paris and it was Messi's fault? Perhaps this meeting is Messi's best chance to prove himself again.