Grégory Paisley, 43, will comment this Wednesday on the quarter-final of the Champions League against Atalanta Bergamo on PSG TV, a first for him on this medium. The former defender of the capital club has followed the Italian training all season, commenting on Serie A for BeIN Sports. He delivers his keys to the game.
Intensity and Papu Gomez
“Atalanta's pressing suffocates the opponent. That's the whole question for PSG: intensity. Learning from two cup finals is impossible. There, it's completely different. Atalanta is there to play the game, settles in the opponent's camp and harasses constantly. It's impressive. She holds the whole game. It is believed that she will have air holes and there are not that many. The middle battle, it's basic, will be one of the keys. A Marquinhos to ensure security. He will be confronted with Papu Gomez who dezones a lot and who always puts himself in the gaps. He's as smart as a monkey. He is super intelligent in all his movements and he can put PSG in a tactical management crisis. "
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⠀ # GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/C8qGbujEXd
“He will sometimes be between the two central, sometimes between the midfielders, he always finds the right interval at the right time. It is very complicated to take and it speeds up the game by passing or dribbling. He has percussion. So decisive role for Marquinhos. "
Take back the ball
“It gets complicated without Verratti. How to find the correctness in the exit of the ball and the choices? You have to be technically very clean. PSG will receive waves without stopping. Solution: put your foot on the ball and not be pressed. It is up to PSG to reverse the balance of power. Anyway, it's up to the Parisian team to make the difference. This is normally the strength of Paris. It's good to be wary of Atalanta but you shouldn't be afraid of it. "
Find the depth
“The defensive animation was Atalanta's black spot. She managed to find a certain balance. She is so carried forward that sometimes she forgets herself. There are a lot of function overruns in this team, at a level that I have rarely seen since being in the commentary. It is quite impressive. This work of compensation has been well done for some time and it has become a little more hermetic. You should not judge her last matches when she secured her qualification in the Champions League. She has a high block, with tight lines. If Paris plays well the blows, in the depth, it passes. They don't go very quickly behind. If Mbappé had been there 100%, he could have smashed them . Without him, without speed ahead, PSG struggles to create opportunities. The two relay midfielders, whether Gueye and Herrera or Paredes have a role to play, box to box . Even if it is unnatural for them, they have to come into the surface to bring danger from behind. "
Neymar's pass against the block
“One on one, Neymar can achieve huge differences. It is especially by his quality of pass in the last thirty meters that he can crack the boulder of Bergamo. Looking for Icardi, who knows this team well. The Argentinian will have maybe three or four situations, to him to put at least one in the bottom. In the return leg, I would not have had too much concern for PSG. But in a dry match, it's very open. Tactically, I expect an exciting game. Atalanta play, it's their DNA and won't change it for a quarterfinal. It's a very cohesive team, where each player is interchangeable. In the middle, Marten de Roon and Remo Freuler are two tireless, very valuable shadow workers. Danger comes from everywhere and every player can score. "
Mbappé, the X factor
“Its speed and depth can change everything. He is Plan B since he cannot be Plan A. In 30 minutes, he can reverse everything. There is no defense in the world that can resist it. It all depends on its state of form. His speed, if we play fair, can change everything. "