The five keys behind PSG´s victory against Barça

Ferran Torres put the blaugranas ahead, but goals from Mayulu and Gonçalo Ramos ensured the Parisian comeback. With this result, the current Champions League champion maintains its perfect streak in the league phase with six points, while Barça suffered its first setback both in the European competition and in the local tournament.

A strong start, but without resistance

The Catalan team started the match well, but failed to sustain the intensity proposed by the French. Although in the first half the culés went to halftime with good feelings, the second half was completely different: PSG was superior in all aspects. The statistics clearly reflect this: Barça dominated possession in the first half with 57%, but after the break, control passed to the Parisians, who reached 64%. Goalkeeper Szczesny, almost untested in the first 45 minutes, had quite a bit of work in the final stretch.

The success in positioning

One of the standout aspects was PSG´s tactical order. The French team knew how to position themselves optimally on the field, allowing them to recover the ball frequently and attack with purpose. The culé coach, Flick, acknowledged this after the match: “You can tell that everyone in PSG wants the ball, they know how to use the spaces, play one-on-one or two-on-one. We need to learn from that and improve”, he stated in the press conference.

Overcoming absences

The match was also marked by absences on both sides. Barça could not count on Joan Garcia, Gavi, Fermín, and Raphinha. Meanwhile, PSG faced the clash without Marquinhos, Dembélé, Doué, and Kvaratskhelia. In the case of the Parisians, these absences—especially the offensive ones—were significant, but Luis Enrique´s team managed to compensate for them and did not miss them in such a demanding scenario.

The changes from the bench

In the previous match, Barça´s substitutions (like Dani Olmo or Lamine Yamal) were key to defeating Real Sociedad. However, this time, Lewandowski, Casadó, and Balde could not provide the necessary boost to change the course of the match. On the contrary, Luis Enrique´s decisions proved decisive. With the introduction of Lucas Hernández, he freed an overworked Nuno Mendes, who could have even been sent off for a second yellow card, and the inclusion of Gonçalo Ramos in the last 20 minutes was crucial: the forward scored the goal that sealed the comeback.

The finishing as a differential factor

In European competitions, a lack of efficiency is costly, and that is precisely what happened to Barcelona. Xavi´s team had few clear opportunities, but they were important enough to have changed the result. Ferran Torres saw how Zabarnyi cleared one of his shots off the line, while Dani Olmo missed with the goal empty and Hakimi appeared to prevent the goal on the line. Although the Valencian redeemed himself by scoring the first goal of the match, the Egarense midfielder wasted another clear chance with the score already at 1-1, which could have tilted the balance in favor of the blaugranas.