Even if it did not concede a goal in Monaco on Friday (0-0), the Paris Saint-Germain defense was in difficulty at times. Should we be worried, four days before the return match against Real Sociedad?
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When the player who made the best impression is the goalkeeper, it’s never a good sign for your team. In Monaco (0-0), Friday March 1, Gianluigi Donnarumma was the most prominent Parisian. With six stops, he kept afloat a ship that was pitching in the pouring rain, in a first act poorly controlled by PSG. Four days before the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League against Real Sociedad (2-0 in the first leg), the Italian goalkeeper was not helped by a delicate defense.
On the Rock, the hinge was composed by Lucas Beraldo and Nordi Mukiele. One, who has just arrived from Brazil, is more used to playing left back. The other is usually assigned to the right lane and is generally content with reduced playing time. Luis Enrique actually had very limited options, due to the many absences of the day. In addition to Milan Skriniar and Presnel Kimpembe, who have been absent for a long time, Marquinhos and Danilo Pereira recently joined the infirmary.
Their condition does not cause great concern, but their presence in San Sebastian on Tuesday is uncertain. Paris then risks approaching one of the key meetings of its season with an experimental hinge, and has some reasons to be concerned. In the first period, the defensive team was indeed overtaken behind them by an untenable Folarin Balogun. “We know how we defend, he’s not a player who will destabilize our way of playing”reassured Nordi Mukiele during the break, at the Prime Video microphone.
A great keeper to handle weak times
The international defender was right on target: the former Reims striker, like all of his teammates, was better contained after the break. Exceeded in intensity, the midfielder also raised his level. But before this quiet second part of the evening defensively, PSG could very well have returned to the locker room with a deficit of one or more goals. Caught by the throat by the Monegasque explosiveness, embodied by Takumi Minamino or Maghnes Akliouche in addition to Balogun, the defense was saved several times by Donnarumma (5th, 16th, 29th, 42nd, 45th+3).
“The opponent has qualities, it’s normal to be in difficulty”, soberly admitted the guard. Struggling this fall, in a dark series that just started in the first leg (5-2), the Italian found his peak of form at the right time. “He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, he works very well and gives us a lot of confidence”praised Luis Enrique about him.
With his confidence, Gigio Donnarumma allows PSG to cross zones of turbulence without risking a crash. Because the control over the ball advocated by the Spanish technician mechanically reduces the opposing highlights. “It’s impossible to squeeze them for 90 minutes”, recognized Alexander Golovin. Against a Real Sociedad still limited offensively (four goals in its last eight matches) but which will try, like Monaco (and as in the first leg), to win the match from the first minutes, Donnarumma would be inspired to quickly frustrate these hopes of ascent.