What if the big fireworks didn’t take place? What if the offensive festival promised by the poster between the two offensive superpowers that are PSG and Bayern Munich, in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League, turned into dissuasion (and therefore reluctance)? While reaffirming his desire to attack more than his opponent, Luis Enrique did not rule out such a scenario this Monday, at a press conference the day before the match. “On the contrary, clearly, if there are two teams who attack very well, we will have to know how to defend. And that will be the key. Attack, take advantage of attacking in the best way, and know how to defend this type of team. »
The Parisian coach fears the opponent – who was his fall tormentor during the regular season – as much as he admires him. “It’s one of the teams I like to watch the most because they play offense all the time. I like all coaches but especially offensive coaches, and Vincent Kompany is without a doubt one of them. » So that, yes: his Bayern broke the 100 goal mark (113) in the Bundesliga this season, to say of the Belgian that he is forward-looking is an understatement.
Bayern and its nuclear arsenal
If Luis Enrique likes to see Bayern play so much, it is perhaps precisely because he refers to his PSG in the expression of offensive power through a formidable collective. The two teams have five players with a minimum of ten goals, with one major difference nevertheless: the Bavarians have the H-bomb (for Harry Kane), made up of 53 butonium atoms, a number which will continue to evolve this season, where the top Parisian scorers Kvaratskhelia and Dembélé only have 16, i.e. fewer goals scored than the Englishman’s right-hand men, Luis Diaz (25) and Michael Olise (19) who we are must remember that they play in a championship where defending is sometimes optional.
Let’s also note that the Ballon d’Or played half as long as all these fine people, and that his form displayed against Liverpool brings him closer to his 35-player version of last year than it distances him. In short, Dembouz is to Paris what Kane is to Bayern, the star who unlocks what needs to be unlocked.
Dembélé and Kane, the versatile
No offense to Luis Enrique, who repeated on Monday his aversion to individual analyzes – “thinking about approaching these big matches individually is a big mistake” – comparing Ousmane Dembélé and Harry Kane serves as much to titillate fans of blockbusters as to recount the contrary itineraries of the two attackers in the service of an unstructured collective.
On the one hand, the fanciful winger discovering advanced territories to awaken to pragmatism without disguising his altruistic nature, the virtues of which Khvicha Kvaratskhelia extolled just yesterday. “Dembélé, I don’t need to work a lot with him. He allows me to create opportunities, he makes my job easier and that’s one reason why he won the Golden Ball. I’m happy to have him with me. »
On the other, the born scorer descended among mortals to explore the depths of the Bavarian game. Patrick Guillou, Bundesliga consultant for beIN Sports, praises the Englishman’s newfound versatility, which was particularly evident in the quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid. “He can score you a goal, he can play 10 and participate in the game. I think his openings will hurt PSG,” he warns. He can also play left-back if the game demands it, he can play defensive midfielder, he can play in all positions, in fact. »
“He does a considerable amount of work for the team,” analyzed Jürgen Klinsmann on behalf of the Fifa Training Center. He is still active. We have seen how he manages to create play and what the benefits are for the team in phases of possession, but he also sets the tone in phases without the ball. »
The organized chaos of PSG, the offensive tradition of Bayern
The plurality of English is part of a modern game where versatility becomes the norm. A concept in which the Parisian coach stays one step ahead by the way he converts his players not only to other roles but also to other positions on the field, as demonstrated by the cases of Warren Zaire-Emery (right back), Bradley Barcola (also aligned in 9) and, more recently, Lucas Beraldo (defensive midfielder). It is amusing to note that if these mutations are carried out under the constraint of a reduced workforce, they end up serving to orchestrate this organized chaos which PSG’s adversaries so fear, and which the free organization of the Bavarians opposes.
Because unlike PSG, Bayern still strives to respect an age-old playing identity around a strong 9 in the tradition of Lewandowski, Klose, Muller, Hoeness, Elber, etc. and sharp wingers. Olise’s special exterior hook + skylight doesn’t remind you of anyone? As for Luis Diaz, German followers like to see Franck Ribéry in his surly extremism.
“The goal is not to center stupidly”
Here again, Vincent Kompany’s strong point is to have modernized these concepts, according to Patrick Guillou. “The desire in the construction is to isolate Olise and Diaz on the sides to have 1 against 1 situations, so that they completely unbalance the opposing defense. But the goal is not to stupidly cross for the 9 in the box. You’re going to unbalance, you’re going to re-enter, you’re going to take advantage of the unbalanced situation that you’ve managed to create on the sides to maintain the lead in the penalty area or in the decision zone, the last 25 meters, the last 30 meters. All this to always find a ready player, to always find a player who will help you support. This is not a stereotypical game where you play from lanes to the center. »
It remains to be seen whether the opposition of (the same) style will spark or if, as Luis Enrique feared, the two firepowers will be sacrificed on the altar of prudence. Given the common game ideas, fans of Beau can be optimistic, especially since Kompany predicts “a storm is going to come and we don’t know which way it will go, as the quality is so great on both sides”.
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