On Tuesday, as part of Matchday 5 of the Champions League 2024-2025, Paris Saint-Germain took on Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. After a match in which the Rouge et Bleu were solid, they lost 1-0 on terrible errors. Here are our notes on the Parisians.
Goalkeeper –
Matvey Safonov (3.5) – A few saves, not particularly impressive except for his save on Musiala’s shot in the 73rd minute. The mistake on the opening goal was terrible.
Defenders –
Achraf Hakimi (5) – In a slightly different role than usual, the Moroccan full-back contributed much less offensively. But he held his own defensively.
Marquinhos (6,5) – He wasn’t totally imperious, but he helped the defense hold firm against Bayern.
Willian Pacho (6.5) – Not perfect, but like Marquinhos he was strong enough to ensure the Germans had few big chances.
Nuno Mendes (6) – He had a very special role and succeeded in bringing a bit of madness without forgetting to defend.
Midfielders –
João Neves (6) – Impressive efforts, some good passes and a superb shot that gave hope of a memorable goal. Of course, he found it harder than usual to hold onto the ball in a different strategy on Tuesday.
Vitinha (6) – Enormously active defensively, with some fine restarts. Logically, this was after Ousmane Dembélé’s red card.
Warren Zaïre-Emery (5.5) – Enormous defensive efforts, some difficulties in the game against Bayern Munich’s intense pressing. His role was also a little unusual. His big missed chance in the second half hurt… Replaced by Lee Kang-In in the 65th minute.
Fabian Ruiz (6) – Collected a lot of balls and created a few chances. Although still lacking a little spark. Replaced by Marco Asensio in the 82nd minute.
Forwards –
Ousmane Dembélé (2) – Some good acceleration and effort, but also some misses and a red card that hurt. The second yellow is questionable, the first is silly.
Bradley Barcola (3) – Once again struggling to make an impact in the Champions League. Replaced in the 72nd minute by Gonçalo Ramos.
Coach –
Luis Enrique (5) – The right plan or not, it’s very difficult to say. We’d have liked PSG to attack more, but they conceded very few chances on Bayern’s turf. And Paris could have taken the lead. Safonov made a big mistake, and starting him was a choice Luis Enrique made. But was it necessarily the wrong choice, given that many wanted him to start rather than Donnarumma?
