On Tuesday evening, Paris Saint-Germain won 0-3 (video highlights Brest/PSG) against Brest in the first leg of the Champions League 2024-2025 play-off (return on Wednesday February 19) at the Stade du Roudourou. We present you with some of the highlights and lowlights of the victory.
Tops –
Dembélé ruthless
Sure, he didn’t have a great game, but he scored… again. It was a landmark moment in his career, and let’s hope it continues. With a double and qualification for the last 8 “almost” in the bag, Parisian players have often been asked to be realistic.
Vitinha
A good team often has a good midfield, and Vitinha (and Neves) is an incredible, underrated player, and his performance, the way he regulates the tempo, his technique, are once again one of the highlights of the Parisian victory. We can’t say that everything he does is perfect; he can and must still do better, but his calmness in the middle gives PSG regular and almost total control.
Paris holds its ground
We knew PSG were favourites, so we had to accept that. Paris showed that there was a world of difference without being brilliant. It has to be said that this match had its faults, and we’ll come back to that later, but above all, it was difficult to get excited about this match for various reasons. It was necessary to get the job done, and Paris continues its hope of advancing even further in the competition.
Flops –
A pitch unworthy of top-level soccer
How can a Champion’s League match be played on a pitch like this? This is no excuse for PSG’s “average” game, nor for Brest’s mistakes, but both teams deserved much better than this “potato” pitch, which spoiled the atmosphere, the quality of play and the overall spectacle. Not to mention the fact that the match was played at 7pm, it was a far cry from the very exciting LDC evening.
PSG concede plenty of chances
Brest are no pushovers, but Paris struggled with the fluidity of their play. Brest had something to do with it, but Paris clearly struggled. With the pitch? With the quality of the opponent? Certainly. One thing’s for sure, this kind of performance may suffice against Brest, who haven’t won against PSG in 40 years, but we’ll have to do better against opponents who are even fairer on the pitch.
