Paris Saint-Germain 0-0 Real Madrid: five lessons
Thursday, October 22, 2015
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UEFA.com's Chris Burke watched Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid draw 0-0 and picks out five lessons from the Group A game as both teams battle for first place.
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Record scorers go missing
Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo shared five goals between them in their previous competitive meeting, but their 2014 FIFA World Cup play-off second leg seemed a distant memory as both struggled to light up this much-anticipated game. Freshly enshrined as Madrid's all-time leading scorer, Ronaldo was wayward with his free-kicks and fired wide from a dangerous position in the second half – and he was far from alone in having a game to forget.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Ibrahimović had one of those nights that will reinforce the view that he is not a man for the big occasions. Despite saying he "felt good" afterwards, he failed to get much change from the excellent Raphaël Varane and Sergio Ramos, and regularly dropped deep in search of the ball. The Sweden captain recently became Paris's own record scorer, but he never looked like adding to his tally of 112 strikes for the club.
Di María left disappointed
In Ibrahimović's defence, he was no quieter than his forward colleagues, and Laurent Blanc will need to analyse whether his attacking trident is working overall. Edinson Cavani was willing to track back but offered little heading in the opposite direction and Ángel Di María found himself under pressure as soon as he got the ball and was guilty of several stray passes.
So impressive against Malmö on matchday one, the Argentinian international could not provide the dynamism that Paris required against his former club, losing his personal duel with Marcelo before he and Cavani were replaced on 67 minutes. "I was a bit nervous to come up against my old team-mates and it wasn't a great match from my point of view," he said after.
Under-strength Madrid show resilience
Missing five starters, Madrid were perhaps understandably not at their best, and the absence of Karim Benzema had a knock-on effect on Ronaldo's performance, with the France striker such a key lieutenant to the Merengues' No7. Nevertheless, the likes of Jesé and Lucas Vázquez – making his first UEFA Champions League start – filled in commendably, as the visitors kept Paris goalless for the first time in 22 European home games.
"Today, players like Jesé showed a lot of quality despite not getting much playing time," commented Ramos. "I thought we were solid overall thanks to a great collective effort." Indeed, there was much to admire from busy duo Toni Kroos and Casemiro in midfield, and Rafael Benítez's well-organised side have now conceded just three times in 11 games this season.
Trapp makes his case
The positives for Paris were of a similar nature, and the hosts can take some consolation from being the first team to keep Madrid scoreless in 41 UEFA Champions League group stage matches. "We were expected to impress offensively, but I think it's our defence and goalkeeper that shone the most," said Blanc, who will have been pleased to see Kevin Trapp rise to the challenge after his early return from a thigh injury.
Snapped up from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer, the 25-year-old has yet to win over the Parc des Princes faithful following his mistakes in the 2-2 draw with Bordeaux last month. He went some way towards making up for that with his third UEFA Champions League clean sheet this term, most notably denying Jesé with his legs on 26 minutes.
Madrid in pole position
Finishing first in the group is the goal for both teams as they look to avoid a potentially tricky round of 16 draw, and Madrid took an important step closer to that objective with their point in France. With Benzema, Gareth Bale and James Rodríguez expected back for the return game on 3 November, Paris may have missed an opportunity here.
"For the moment, they have the advantage," conceded Paris captain Thiago Silva, who is eager for his side to show their true worth at the Santiago Bernabéu. "The match over there will be more difficult so I hope my team will be focused and wary, and that we play with the same intensity we had in the second half."