When discovering the team composition concocted by Luis Enrique, the absence of Marquinhos caused debate in the wings of the Park.
Slightly affected, the Parisian captain was preserved at kick-off this Sunday against Brest (2-2), leaving the axis to Lucas Hernandez and Danilo Pereira with the very young Lucas Beraldo on the left side and Warren Zaire-Emery on the hybrid position, half side, half midfielder.
If the Bretons had certainly not imagined that Paris would present itself with a defense disrupted by the forfeits, they had still targeted certain axes on which to press.
Particularly on the French international side.
“We knew there would be space behind him, we tried to use it as much as possible and avoid focusing on our possessions,” explained Brest's second scorer Mathias Pereira Lage after the match.
On the first 2 goals we concede, that's a bit what we do, we get in the middle and then we get screwed.
But that's what we had worked on, and our second goal comes from the left side with this cross into the area where I can put the Madjer.
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If Zaire-Emery was not unworthy, giving a little energy to his team with his forward play, Paris above all got through a failed second half which highlighted the limits that he will have to correct at all costs between now and the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League against Real Sociedad on February 14.
Lucas Hernandez soon back on the left?
Trained as a central defender, Beraldo helped out for the second time in a row on the left but while he still lacks benchmarks with his new team, his performance confirmed an observation: the corridor is not his preferred register and he still appears a little tender for a meeting of this magnitude.
Therefore, it is difficult not to imagine Lucas Hernandez, axial this Sunday, returning to the side in two weeks while Nuno Mendes will not yet have the canes to start.
The Frenchman certainly played with the same aggressiveness that characterizes him but his association with Danilo did not offer all the guarantees that could be expected in the absence of Marquinhos, who came on for the last quarter of an hour.
Danilo sends the ball into his goal while trying to tackle Camara's shot (2-1, 54th) then is surprised, between the legs, by Satriano's cross at the end of the match (2-2, 79th).
Proof, once again, that this PSG is on a tightrope in defense and that it doesn't take much for it to crash.
Especially when his midfielder, very disappointing, does not display the aggression necessary to ensure balance like this Sunday.
Final stretch of the transfer window
Should we therefore raise the question of recruitment in defense?
While the transfer window ends this Thursday, February 1 at 11:59 p.m. and the Leny Yoro track seems to be forgotten for this winter, PSG must decide.
Asked at a press conference on Saturday, Luis Enrique suggested that he could make do with the players at his disposal.
“Do I want recruits on defense?
To be sincere with you, I think you have to do your homework in the summer for the transfer window, tempered the Spanish technician.
There are more opportunities to strengthen the squad in the summer.
You must always be open to changes.
I am happy with my squad.
I'm here to help the players I have progress.
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Read also PSG-Brest (2-2): “Obviously I’m angry”, complains Luis Enrique
After the long-term injury to Milan Skriniar and the current absence of Achraf Hakimi due to the African Cup of Nations which is weighing on the team, he must still hope that the problems spare him.
The defense has been running pretty well since the start of 2024, it has just stalled.