Closed PSG v Chelsea

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Right, since constantly asking and begging to stay on topic hasn't really worked out so far, let's try a different approach: The next person to make a post here that is not directly about the match on Wednesday will be banned.

[sdrcfc 461]

If Eto'o is out, I'd we opt for Schurrle as a false 9 over Torres. Or just start Ba.

[bababoom 4,478]

PSG fans seem confident, i'm looking forward to the match. It's hard to judge them as a team seeing as they play in Ligue 1, lets be fair it's not the best league in the world. I know individually they are scary, but as a team i'm not sure how good they are, so i'm kind of in the unknown.

Looking at some of the PSG fans comments, it seems they find it hard against fast counter attacking teams, it sounds perfect for us, IF Ramires, Willian and Hazard turn up we'll get a result.

[LAM09 6,751]

Agree with you Chelsea fans should not forget the pre-Roman Era

We reached the CL before Roman came.

[tchang 0]

Hi pals. Some informations about Paris-Saint-Germain team.

Here's the likely starting eleven:

___________Sirigu______________

Jallet_____Alex__Silva______Maxwell

___________Motta

_______Verratti__Matuidi

Cavani___________________Lavezzi

_________Ibrahimovic

PSG strenghts

- Ibrahimovic. In a good form, he's pratically unstoppable.

- PSG likes to have possession of the ball and does it well.

- The three on midfield. Motta and Verratti form a very effective partnership, a technically gifted duo. Not the quickest one (i'll talk about this later), but it's hard to take the ball away from them, especially Verratti who is a wonderkid (a arrogant jerk too). Matuidi isn't the most confident player with the ball, he lacks skill sometimes, but he's a wonderful teamworker, always running and pressing, in a similar way than Ramires except with a brain (but Ramires is more offensive).

- The centre-back pairing. Silva is a great defender, with composure, anticipation, speed, serenity. Alex is a good player, not a great one, but he's solid in the air and he's a perfect team mate for Silva. Both are complementary to each other.

- Cavani is a good support for Ibra. Zlatan likes to play like a playmaker so Cavani can act like a false winger, he's often front of the goal and he scores a lot.

PSG weaknesses

- The right back Van Der Wiel isn't a bad one but his substitute, Jallet, can be terrible, really. A very average footballer and a harsh defender, he's a great worker but he's too weak for this level of competition. Hazard will shine and destroy PSG right side, i put my bet on it.

- PSG style of play is predictable. PSG likes to control the ball, but the team lacks of variety, the team isn't very dangerous on the wings. PSG wingers aren't real wingers, Cavani is a 9 and Lavezzi is a second striker. Maxwell is a good technician and a smart player, but he can't pass an opponent with his speed, most of the time he's waiting for Ibrahimovic support. So, the team is very dependant on Ibrahimovic and the midfield.

- Lavezzi is a great worker. Always running, calling for the ball, pressing, but he's not a great footballer. He lacks so much talent and finishing ability to be a real menace in my opinion. He's on a better form actually, but i think Lucas is more able to make the decision.

- Motta and Verratti aren't very mobile. They can easily be exceeded by fast counter-attacks.

- Sirigu is a good keeper, not a great one.

- PSG midfielders lack of self control (especially Verratti).

as a PSG supporter, i totally agree with your analysis.

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

In a sense we've faced most of their forward line when we played Napoli, worked out quite well, the home leg, anyway. Only player who makes me nervous is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He is one of the few players in world football who can change any game on any level. Some call it arrogance, I call it confidence. If we can ruin his game flow we'll be alright. Sure they've got a great squad but so do we. I'd be happy if we score a goal there (1-0; 1-1; 1-2, 2-1) so we'll have all to play for next week.

[Zdar 18]

Even for us, it's hard to judge them. They've won the League since the 1rst day, their only motivation is CL. That's why it's not relevant, imo, to speak about the games against Monaco; PSG didn't have to beat Monaco to be sure to win the League. Our only reference is the 2nde leg against Barça (considering the quarter was our aim last year, Ancelotti was probably forced to put Beckham for the first leg, for marketing). A weak Barça without Messi. So we're in the unknown here too.

Anyone knows Chelsea is very good at counter attacking; this is CL and I think that before scoring, PSG will make sure to be well organized and to get a clean sheet. Paris can score at SB as well.

PSG is the best team on set pieces in the CL this year (7 goals if i'm not wrong); both team are physical; there should be some interesting duel situations.

"We reached the CL before Roman came. "

So did Paris, but this isn't the subject anymore mate.

[LAM09 6,751]

There are several players that are liabilities for PSG. Sirgu to start with!

[Zdar 18]

The biggest is Jallet. Maybe Blanc will put Marquinhos instead to contain Hazard, but maybe it's better for Paris to put Chelsea under pressure, so a real fullback like Jallet would be better. He was wounded and since few weeks he's doing better and better so, let's see. It's pretty sure that Van der Wiel won't play the first leg.

Sirigu is a very good goalkeeper, maybe not a great one as it was said, but still, he would n1 in Italia without Buffon. He had to adapt to PSG new system this season; he had less work to do since we have high possession, so he lacked focus, but he's working on this since few months and honestly, he was quite impressive this last games. He's very good on his line, but he prefers to beat the ball back rather than catching it, which can be dangerous in certain situations.

[magiczlatan 15]

PSG fans seem confident, i'm looking forward to the match. It's hard to judge them as a team seeing as they play in Ligue 1, lets be fair it's not the best league in the world. I know individually they are scary, but as a team i'm not sure how good they are, so i'm kind of in the unknown.

Looking at some of the PSG fans comments, it seems they find it hard against fast counter attacking teams, it sounds perfect for us, IF Ramires, Willian and Hazard turn up we'll get a result.

There's a lot of teasing; It's the French-English rivalry.

We play in ligue 1, but PSG is richer than Chelsea. It is not rocket science; money talks in football.

Laurent Blanc knows Jose M. very well; they were in Barcelona together.

By the way, I have a hard time judging Chelsea as well, although Its play in the BPL.

I prefer to watch the best teams first and foremost: Barca, Madrid, Bayern, MU. So, It really is hard to measure your strength. The bookies say that It's a flip though.

I would not say that we are more confident than you. Last week, I said that Chelsea would qualify 55% of the time versus PSG. Another French fan agreed with me.

Lille drew in Paris (2-2). They were very generous and physical. I believe that you have got all the qualities to frustrate us. Time will tell.

[bushman 2,043]

Personally, I believe Chelsea's scoring one goal & that's all is needed for the return leg.

PSG has not faced anyone as good as Chelsea in this season. When Monaco is second in the French league, the team that played second league last year, that tells me all about PSG competition, so far.

[DrKojo 25]

The biggest is Jallet. Maybe Blanc will put Marquinhos insteead to contain Hazard,

What makes you think Marquinhos would play right back ? I can't think even a second Laurent Blanc would try that for this game. imo there is no way Marquinhos will play right back against chelsea.

About Monaco, they have players like Falcao, James, Moutinho, Toulalan, Abidal. That team is not a shame, and they deserve their second place. The shame is their arena is allways empty.

[Zdar 18]

Blanc already tried Marquinhos as a right back and it was pretty good. I said he could choose Marquinhos if he fears the duel Jallet/Hazard, let's not forget Jallet was injured for long, he will struggle facing Hazard. But, as I said, yes, he'll probably take Jallet, cause the best defense would be to put Chelsea under offensive pressure.

About Monaco, ofcourse it sucks to see stars playing in an empty stadium, but what do you want, 36.000 inhabitants there, and not really the folk, popular kind

"PSG has not faced anyone as good as Chelsea in this season. When Monaco is second in the French league, the team that played second league last year, that tells me all about PSG competition, so far. "

You're right, Chelsea is our best opponent since Barça. But notice that Monaco played 31 games for 63 points, for a promoted team it's impressive. But yeah it also shows the level of the other teams, which are struggling a lot with FFP incoming.

It makes me wonder, what would make the biggest difference to you? To play in BPL, and to get used to face strong opponents, but to lose strenght in the struggle for the title? Or to be like PSG, and to get the opportunity to rest before important games? Considering many PSG players already have the CL experience and know how to 'transcend' against big teams.

[psgfanxx 18]

Hi pals. Some informations about Paris-Saint-Germain team.

Here's the likely starting eleven:

___________Sirigu______________

Jallet_____Alex__Silva______Maxwell

___________Motta

_______Verratti__Matuidi

Cavani___________________Lavezzi

_________Ibrahimovic

PSG strenghts

- Ibrahimovic. In a good form, he's pratically unstoppable.

- PSG likes to have possession of the ball and does it well.

- The three on midfield. Motta and Verratti form a very effective partnership, a technically gifted duo. Not the quickest one (i'll talk about this later), but it's hard to take the ball away from them, especially Verratti who is a wonderkid (a arrogant jerk too). Matuidi isn't the most confident player with the ball, he lacks skill sometimes, but he's a wonderful teamworker, always running and pressing, in a similar way than Ramires except with a brain (but Ramires is more offensive).

- The centre-back pairing. Silva is a great defender, with composure, anticipation, speed, serenity. Alex is a good player, not a great one, but he's solid in the air and he's a perfect team mate for Silva. Both are complementary to each other.

- Cavani is a good support for Ibra. Zlatan likes to play like a playmaker so Cavani can act like a false winger, he's often front of the goal and he scores a lot.

PSG weaknesses

- The right back Van Der Wiel isn't a bad one but his substitute, Jallet, can be terrible, really. A very average footballer and a harsh defender, he's a great worker but he's too weak for this level of competition. Hazard will shine and destroy PSG right side, i put my bet on it.

- PSG style of play is predictable. PSG likes to control the ball, but the team lacks of variety, the team isn't very dangerous on the wings. PSG wingers aren't real wingers, Cavani is a 9 and Lavezzi is a second striker. Maxwell is a good technician and a smart player, but he can't pass an opponent with his speed, most of the time he's waiting for Ibrahimovic support. So, the team is very dependant on Ibrahimovic and the midfield.

- Lavezzi is a great worker. Always running, calling for the ball, pressing, but he's not a great footballer. He lacks so much talent and finishing ability to be a real menace in my opinion. He's on a better form actually, but i think Lucas is more able to make the decision.

- Motta and Verratti aren't very mobile. They can easily be exceeded by fast counter-attacks.

- Sirigu is a good keeper, not a great one.

- PSG midfielders lack of self control (especially Verratti).

+10000

i can see those 2 clowns Jallet and especially Lavezzi costing us the match, dude is hopeless at finishing

Also, Cavani is in terrible form lately and isn't really that good on the wing

I also hope Blanc won't substitute Verratti for Cabaye, he did it two times against Monaco this season and we lost control of the matches both times after that

Zlatan will be the deciding factor imo, hope he won't pussy out like he often did in the past in the champions league

[joesd95 0]

Anyone know if there's a decent watering hole the pensioner away contingent are planning on descending upon pre-match/ what kind of time?

[Zdar 18]

Meh, Lavezzi is better since his uncle got shot (weird). Also, he uses to be better for CL games, as the whole team. Him and Cavani have a revenge to take over Chelsea by the way. Hope Pocho will score, let's see.

I agree, I worry about Cavani, he's not at his best level since his unjury and his private issue. He's in Paris because we need him for this kind of game, where Zlatan tends to disappear.

Cabaye was still in Newcastle when we faced Monaco for the first time.

Maybe Cabaye instead of Matuidi would be a good option, if our midfield wants a better technical control. I don't like when Blanc gets Verratti out, but you know, he's still a boy, at 21 it's not good to play so many full games, he may regret it when he'll reach 30 Beside, I already told what I think about him, but he tends to be slightly less good in 2nde half. Still, hope to see him on the field.

[soccerfreak7 2]

We better not play like how we did against Crystal Palace

[psgfanxx 18]

Hmm how can you compare a midfielder to a forward ? they are extremely different

Lavezzi is like a headless chicken, he runs a lot but can't do shit when he's got the ball, and he can't score to save his life unless it's a tap-in

had he not been argentinian, he'd be playing in a third division league in eastern europe