Paris Saint-Germain warmed up perfectly for their UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday with a straightforward 4-1 win over RC Lens at Parc des Princes on Saturday.
The result takes Laurent Blanc’s men a provisional two points clear of Olympique Lyonnais ahead of Les Gones’ difficult clash away at Montpellier HSC on Sunday. Compared with the way they prepared for the first leg of their Chelsea clash, a late 2-2 draw at home to Stade Malherbe Caen with a plethora of injuries, this was ideal preparation.
David Luiz’s first half free-kick and a second half penalty from Zlatan Ibrahimovic , as well late efforts from substitutes Blaise Matuidi and Javier Pastore, mean Yoann Touzghar’s goal for Lens was nothing more than consolation.
Les Sang et Or’s coach Antoine Kombouare was deservedly given a warm welcome by the Parc des Princes crowd because of his legendary status as a player and later tactician, but the 51-year-old watched his team badly cave in after they gave themselves a chance at 2-1.
However, Lens should not even have still been in the game at that point. Although the 4-1 final score suggests PSG were clinical in front of goal, it could not be further from the truth.
Les Parisiens were wasteful on Saturday, and if they play the same way in front of goal against Chelsea next week, they will not be reaching a third consecutive Champions League quarter-final. If the defending French champions had taken even half of the chances that went begging on the day, though, things would have been even more demoralising for embattled Lens.
Ibrahimovic, despite scoring from the penalty spot in the second half, was extremely wasteful and missed two good chances in the first half. Ezequiel Lavezzi, who is far from clinical at the best of times, missed some good chances, too.
At one point early in the second half, the Argentinian dribbled the ball around Lens goalkeeper Rudy Riou and attempted to walk the ball into the net. Instead, he was robbed of the ball in front of an open goal and the chance passed with the score still at 1-0.
PSG cannot be missing those sorts of chances in any game, but especially not in London next week when every opportunity must be made the most of. Ibrahimovic and Lavezzi were not alone in being wasteful; Luiz, Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, Gregory van der Wiel, and substitutes Matuidi and Edinson Cavani also passed up good late openings.
The highlight of the game for Blanc will be the cameo performance of Pastore. Introduced with 24 minutes to play, the Argentinian playmaker scored one and laid on another.
El Flaco, wide on the right, delivered an inviting cross that Matuidi was able to slide home to make it 3-1 after 80 minutes. Then, just three minutes later, El Flaco emphatically volleyed in a delightful chipped pass from Ibrahimovic past Riou to complete the scoring.
If there was any doubt or indecision from Blanc over selecting one of Pastore or Lavezzi pre-game, the former settled that selection headache with this short showing. Put simply, PSG are a different team with Pastore in the XI, and Le President cannot afford to be without him in a match that the French giants absolutely must score in.
The late substitution of Thiago Motta also helped, with Matuidi offering a lot more in his place. Luiz performed well enough in defence, but still made enough errors to make it clear that he should be played in defensive midfield against Chelsea.
If Blanc can play Pastore from the start and keep Luiz in the deep-lying role he excelled in during the first leg against Chelsea, then PSG do stand a chance of beating Jose Mourinho’s men. But whatever happens, the men from the French capital cannot squander as many chances as they did against Lens.
PSG are top until at least Sunday night, but Lens are in deep trouble. By the end of this weekend, Les Sang et Or could find themselves 10 points adrift in the relegation zone and possibly even below basement rivals FC Metz .
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1BTC9Gw
via IFTTT March 07, 2015 at 11:10AM
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