This Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain take on Inter Milan at Munich’s Allianz Arena in the final of the Champions League 2024-2025 (kick-off 9pm, CET). Benjamin Pavard, 29-year-old defender for the Italian club and France’s national team, talks about this encounter in a lengthy interview with L’Equipe published on Wednesday. He talks about the way his team is playing, Parisian qualities and Ousmane Dembélé (the 28-year-old Parisian striker who is also with Les Bleus).
Pavard “We have to adapt.”
We get the impression that you’re a team that likes to suffer. Is that really the case?
No, we don’t like to suffer. But as long as the results are there… We’d always like to have possession, but sometimes we come up against teams who also like to have the ball. You have to adapt. As soon as you have to back off and defend low, you can see that we know how to do it. We know how to press high, but also defend low.
Pavard “The coach never asks us to stay fixed.”
How would you describe your style of play?
It’s a hybrid game. Sometimes, I can find myself playing at right-back, or even at right-back. Midfielders can end up as central defenders. The coach never asks us to stay fixed. I can take the ball and go inside, for example, make a pass and follow my action.
We have a lot of freedom, but the most important thing is to maintain defensive balance. That’s what the coach insists on. We can take liberties, but at the back, some of us have to cover. When I go up, it’s (Nicolo) Barella who covers me.
Pavard “it’s a pleasure to watch, but we won’t be watching it on Saturday.”
You won the Champions League in 2020 with Bayern, against PSG (1-0), so it’s a little sign of destiny…
I hope to achieve the same thing again. Don’t underestimate Paris. They’re a great team and have been for several years. But I think PSG are even more consistent this season.
It’s a very homogeneous group, with a great coach – one of the best in the world, in my opinion. His team plays very well on the ball and is a pleasure to watch, but we won’t be watching them on Saturday. There are going to be moments when we suffer, but I’m not worried, because we have experienced players who are used to these moments.
Pavard “It was a question of confidence for him.”
You’ve seen the level of Ousmane Dembélé this season. Is he PSG’s main asset?
There isn’t just one player in this team. Paris has great players in every position. Even the goalkeeper, who has been much criticized, but who has been decisive. Against Arsenal, he made two saves in five minutes. At 0-1, it wasn’t the same game.
Ousmane is having an extraordinary season, but that’s not surprising. He’s just scoring more goals. It was a question of confidence for him. When you go three games in a row and score, your brain picks up on those moments and after that, it’s almost automatic with confidence.”
Inter Milan, with their differences of course, are without doubt one of the teams in the world most like PSG in their idea of player mobility. In fact, it goes even further. Marquinhos and Willian Pacho hardly ever come out of defence, whereas at Inter Milan there really are changes for everyone. As Pavard says, it’s not uncommon to see a midfielder covering the rise of a defender.
The aim is always to get forward and hurt the opposition by using every space. A word often uttered by coach Luis Enrique, even if the “attack” is a little different. In particular, there’s a little more love of possession, whereas Inter are more willing to give it up. And that’s what we’re likely to see on Saturday.
But beware, this is no gift to the opposition. With their love of space and positional changes, while mastering the use of the flanks, Inter Milan are a terribly fearsome team in transition. Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona paid the price in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
PSG will therefore need to pay close attention to every detail and find solutions to hurt Pavard and Co’s defense, while maintaining balance to avoid devastating counter-attacks. The task is far from straightforward, but the Parisians do have some important trump cards up their sleeve. The Inter defender is quick to point out.
It’s going to be a great match, with an intensity that’s undoubtedly impressive, and a great spectacle. Now we have to give it everything we’ve got to turn the “details” in the right direction. The promise of a great evening’s soccer is there, and let’s hope it will be a Parisian celebration at the end.
