In the Zone: Paris' potent front three

Group H leaders Paris Saint-Germain equalled their record goal tally for a European game when they put seven past Maccabi Haifa on Matchday 5.

In this analysis piece brought to you by FedEx, the UEFA Technical Observers’ panel highlights the brilliant attacking combinations of their forward trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.

Goals

1-0: Lionel Messi (19)

Messi was the man to conclude a move that began at the feet of his goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma. Paris worked the ball up the left before Mbappé ushered it inside to Neymar, who found Fabián Ruiz attacking the Maccabi box on the right. The Spaniard's far-post cross to Messi was met by a cushioned header inside to Mbappé and, though defender Dylan Batubinsika got a touch, Mbappé knocked the loose ball back to Messi, who steered a shot inside the far post with the outside of his left boot.

2-0: Kylian Mbappé (32)

This was a goal that showed Paris at their best, countering rapidly from a Maccabi corner. Messi picked the ball up on the edge of his box and sidestepped an opponent to spark the attack. In the 'Combinations' video above you then see Mbappé use his pace to carry the ball up the left, and Neymar produce a rabona to play his colleague into space on the left of the box. The culminating finish is just as good, Mbappé curling a shot into the far corner.

3-0: Lionel Messi (35)

Each of the Paris forwards was involved again as Christophe Galtier's men struck on another counter. The cue was an interception by Renato Sanches after which Mbappé sprang over the halfway line and played the ball inside to Neymar who, in turn, fed it on to Messi. With two Maccabi defenders following Mbappé's clever run from left to right, Neymar – angling his run the other way – was clear to collect Messi's pass and loft a shot in on off the far post.

3-1: Abdoulaye Seck (38)

A clever free-kick routine was the source of the Senegal defender's first goal in UEFA club competition. At the moment Tjaronn Chery placed the ball down on the turf, Omer Atzili stepped in and produced a superb delivery to the far post. With Donnarumma coming halfway out but then stopping and no Paris player checking Seck's run, he was free to power a header into the goal.

4-1: Lionel Messi (45)

This, in the words of the UEFA observer, was a signature Messi strike. After a patient build-up from a goal-kick, Mbappé collected the ball centrally some 40 metres out. Suddenly the game sped up with a swift exchange of passes between him and Messi, who duly sidestepped Sean Goldberg inside the D before rifling a wonderfully precise shot low inside the right-hand post.

4-2: Abdoulaye Seck (50)

Paris paid the price for their inability to clear the ball following Atzili's corner as Batubinsika and Frantzdy Pierrot both nodded it on towards Seck who, in turn, produced a deft header to loop it beyond Donnarumma. An excellent finish from the tall, quick left-sided centre-back who, in the observer's eyes, performed creditably against Mbappé.

5-2: Kylian Mbappé (64)

The Frenchman's 16th club goal of the season followed a superb crossfield ball by Achraf Hakimi from the right, the full-back picking out Mbappé on the left side of the box. He took one touch and then curled a shot into the far corner.

6-2: Sean Goldberg own goal (67)

Neymar's dribbling was the key as he picked up an overhit cross on the left and carried the ball back into the box, evading Muhammad Abu Fani before firing in a low cross that Goldberg, mindful of the blue shirt behind him, diverted into his own net.

7-2: Carlos Soler (84)

After Maccabi had repelled a cross into their box, Paris probed again, Neymar finding Messi in space on the edge of the box on the left, from where he angled a low ball back towards the D, where substitute Soler popped up to send a low shot past Joshua Cohen for his first goal for the club.

Player of the Match: Lionel Messi

It was an evening on which Messi moved into double figures for both goals and assists this season. He has four goals and three assists in the UEFA Champions League, and 11 goals and 12 assists in all competitions. On top of that he "was a constant threat with his passing and dribbling", according to the UEFA match observer.

Team formations

Paris

Galtier lined up his players in a 4-3-2-1 formation in which Neymar (10) operated behind the front pair of Messi (30) and Mbappé (7). Of the three midfielders behind them, Renato Sanches (18) sat deep while Ruiz (8) was the most forward-looking. Indeed with Messi's tendency to drift from right to left, it was Ruiz and full-back Hakimi (2) who provided the penetration on that right-hand side for the hosts.

Maccabi Haifa

The Israeli champions set up in a 3-5-2 formation and the UEFA observer noted that they were courageous in pressing high up with the pitch with six players – a ploy which had helped bring their goal against Paris at home. Behind those six, Neta Lavi (6) stayed back to provide support for his three centre-backs against the Paris front three. As for their offensive efforts, they offered plenty of movement within this formation with Chery (10) finding space behind the centre-forward and so too Atzili (7) on the right.

Features

The video above highlights the outstanding interplay between the front three of the Ligue 1 side. The first clip, from the 18th minute, shows how just when it seems nothing is happening, they can go up the gears and open up an opposition defence seemingly at ease as the ball speeds from Neymar to Messi to Mbappé and then back to Neymar, who steers it wide.

The second clip highlights their swiftness on the counter as they break from a corner and the front three combine once more before Mbappé curls in the game's opening goal. In the third clip, they spring once more from their own half, the MNM trio all involved as they unlock the Maccabi defence.

As the observer noted, this is a team who look to build from the back with short passes yet they are at their most menacing in these rapid transitions to attack, through the speed of Mbappé and combinations between Messi and Neymar.

It brought a rich harvest for all three on Tuesday night. Messi produced two goals and two assists while Mbappé, a threat throughout with his pace, delivered two goals and one assist. Neymar, who sparkled with his dribbling and those clever little combinations, claimed once of each. A glance at the performance data for the first five matchdays highlights Neymar's contribution as he ranks first in the entire competition for both carries (391) and chances (15), a metric which combines key passes with assists. Messi is third in the latter category with 12, with Napoli's Piotr Zieliński (14) sandwiched between the Paris pair.

The only nagging question for Galtier was the fact that his side remain without a clean sheet in the group stage, having conceded twice against Maccabi. As the observer noted, they defended in effect with a block of seven outfield players and goalkeeper Donnarumma. The trio in front enjoy a lot of freedom to play, though the flipside on Tuesday was that they largely limited their defensive work to moments when they were close enough to the ball to win it or apply pressure.

Coaches' assessments

Christophe Galtier, Paris coach
"The 4-3-3 system meant the front three could be a little higher up the pitch and they had a little more freedom in their movements thanks to the work of the midfield. It's a privilege to have those players and to see them play like that, for each other.

"I saw the players enjoy themselves, and that's very important. I had to think about how our fantastic three players up front could express themselves as best possible, and that the system could be very important. It's very pleasant to train them, to see them play every day. For a coach, it's paradise. There are a lot of games, we have to manage them, and you have to decide who to put behind them to play the ball forward precisely."

Barak Bakhar, Maccabi Haifa coach
"I prefer to lose 7-2 than 4-0 and play badly. We were up against world-class players, and they showed it. We played well for the first 20 minutes, and we scored twice. It's never pleasant to concede seven goals, but I get the feeling we gave our all. It hurts, but we'll pick ourselves up."