In the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League, there are no matchups left where bad teams represent their countries and leagues, but there are still standout matchups that people are talking about.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool was definitely one of those and is arguably the best matchup we have at this stage of the competition.
Both teams are in form right now, comfortably leading their respective leagues in France and England, and will probably crown themselves champions at the end of the season.
For PSG, Luis Enrique has successfully managed the rebuild PSG found themselves in over the last couple of years.
After spending heavily on the transfer market and signing the biggest names in the world—Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, and Lionel Messi—all three of their attacking superstars decided to leave the club over the last couple of years.
However, PSG is still standing as strong as ever.
It’s a bit of a different story with Liverpool, but the situation is similar in a way.
The club is also in year one after losing a superstar, but for them, it was their manager Jürgen Klopp who called it quits at the end of last season and was replaced by former Feyenoord coach Arne Slot.
Slot is instantly making a push to win the Premier League and the Champions League with the Reds.
In this post-match analysis and tactical analysis, we will examine the tactics used by the two teams in their first leg in the Round of 16, where PSG dominated Liverpool, and how the Reds still managed to better PSG.
Players & Formations Used
Both managers refrained from making huge tactical or personnel changes for the biggest game of the season so far.
Enrique lined his team up in the usual 4-3-3 formation they have used over the last couple of weeks.
Donnarumma started in goal, with skipper Marquinhos and Pacho starting as the centre-backs right in front of him.
Hakimi and Nuno Mendes were the full-back tandem, with the Moroccan superstar starting on the right defensive side and the Portuguese international starting on the left.
In midfield, Vitinha played as the center of the three midfielders in a more defensive position, with Fabian and Neves playing next to him.
In the attack, they were newly put together but still very lethal: a trio consisting of Barcola on the left, Kvaratskhelia on the right, and Dembélé as a false nine who threatened the English defence.
For Slot, he lined his team up in a 4-3-3 formation as well, but it was a hybrid with a 4-2-3-1 formation for Liverpool in this game.
Alisson started in goal, with Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk playing as centre-halves and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson playing as full-backs.
Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch played as a pseudo-double pivot, with Dominik Szoboszlai playing in a more advanced midfield position than both of them for most of the game.
In attack, superstar Mohamed Salah started on the right wing, with Luis Díaz, his counterpart on the left side, and Diogo Jota, the lone striker for the English team, starting up front.
Dominating Possession
From the start of the game, PSG dominated.
Liverpool, one of the most dominant teams in the Premier League, were unable to do much against PSG.
On Wednesday, the Frenchmen simply outclassed the Reds in every area, situation, and part of the game.
In the end, PSG was able to accumulate 70% of possession and played 746 passes with an accuracy of 88% compared to Liverpool’s 317 passes, of which only 74% were accurate, way below the standard that Slot’s men have set this season.
Enrique and his team played a suffocating attacking and counterpress that Liverpool were never able to break and were reliant on a lot of long balls, but with Jota starting in attack, PSG’s centre-backs were easily able to defend those.
In possession themselves, Les Parisiens never even let Liverpool get the chance to maybe attack their build-up and showed a lot of calmness on the ball and in their passing game.
Enriques men play in a distinctive way, and they are completely on a roll right now.
In build-up, their positional play after winning the ball is very interesting.
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