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Scouting the enemy: A guide to Paris Saint-Germain

By Sunil Gurubhagwatla

(Photo credit should read PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images)
(Photo credit should read PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Real Madrid will host Paris Saint-Germain at the Santiago Bernabéu for the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 Wednesday. Here is everything you need to know about the high flying Parisians.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar Jr celebrates opening the scoring during the French L1 football match between Toulouse (TFC) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on February 10, 2018 at the Municipal stadium in Toulouse. / AFP PHOTO / REMY GABALDA (Photo credit should read REMY GABALDA/AFP/Getty Images)
Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar Jr celebrates opening the scoring during the French L1 football match between Toulouse (TFC) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on February 10, 2018 at the Municipal stadium in Toulouse. / AFP PHOTO / REMY GABALDA (Photo credit should read REMY GABALDA/AFP/Getty Images) /

Last Match: Toulouse 0 – 1 PSG

PSG was away at Toulouse last weekend and won the game with relative ease. Neymar Jr. scored the only goal, his 28th for PSG in Ligue 1. PSG has been blitzing past their opponents this season and has been superb in the Champions League group stage.

They scored a total of 25 goals in the group stages and allowed just four goals. Three of those were scored by Bayern Munich in the only game PSG lost in the group stages.

Based on the highlights of their games against Toulouse, Lyon, and Strasbourg, there are specific patterns that emerge that show how PSG approach games.

PSG’s play revolves a lot around getting the ball to Neymar. Neymar touched the ball 100 times in the game against Toulouse, as has been the case in every other match. PSG depend heavily on Neymar to create goal scoring chances. On an average, 45% of the chances for PSG come from the left flank.

In terms of the style of play, PSG prefers to keep a lot of possession in the middle third of the pitch. The midfield comprising of Verratti, Rabiot and Le Celso/Draxler/Motta do not really stretch the pitch. They play really close to each other and look to combine with short passes to move the ball from box to box.

One of those would always keep an eye on the run of the fullbacks and the ball frequently finds its way to flanks. In case the fullbacks are pegged back, Neymar or Kylian Mbappe drop into the midfield to create attacking outlets.

The other notable feature of PSG are the cutbacks aimed at the penetrating runs of Mbappe. For real, that guy is seriously so good for his age. He always knows where the ball would end up and pops up at all the right places.

Dani Alves and Neymar continuously look to find Mbappe inside the box. Long shots from outside the box is another weapon in PSG’s attacking arsenal with Neymar and Mbappe being the prime proponents.

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