Paris Saint-Germain have been one of many prime girls’s golf equipment in Europe in recent times and are the one facet to have damaged up the 18-year home dominance of OL Lyonnes by going unbeaten to win the French Première Ligue title in 2020-21. However since that success, they’ve completed at the least 10 factors behind their rivals 3 times.
The Parisian facet have additionally been mainstays within the UEFA Girls’s Champions League (UWCL) during the last decade, making 4 semifinal appearances within the final six seasons, whereas ending runners-up in 2015 and 2017. However final season, PSG have been eradicated by Juventus within the second qualifying spherical — having misplaced 5-2 on mixture — and so they have suffered two defeats from two video games to date this marketing campaign in opposition to Wolfsburg (4-0) and Actual Madrid (2-1), with a visit to Manchester United to return this week.
After years of suggesting they might take the subsequent step, one thing has felt totally different of late and it appears like issues are going within the different course. So what’s going on in Paris?
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A expertise exodus
The largest cause for PSG’s downturn in kind has been the huge expertise exodus on the membership, as they’ve misplaced key gamers in consecutive switch home windows.
The membership appear unable to retain their stars and, this summer season, all-time prime objective scorer Marie-Antoinette Katoto (OL Lyonnes), USWNT star Korbin Shrader (OL Lyonnes) and midfield maestro Grace Geyoro (London Metropolis Lionesses) all left. Whereas, in the last few years, gamers like Christiane Endler, Kadidiatou Diani (each OL Lyonnes), Sara Däbritz (Actual Madrid), Sandy Baltimore and Ashley Lawrence (each Chelsea) additionally departed.
PSG have misplaced quite a lot of their expertise to direct rivals OL Lyonnes, and have struggled to transform profitable mortgage spells into everlasting strikes as effectively, with Malawi striker Tabitha Chawinga the very best instance. After main the targets and assists chart for PSG within the 2023-24 season on mortgage from Wuhan Jianghan College, Chawinga joined OL Lyonnes the subsequent season, leaving the Parisiens scrambling to discover a supply of targets once more.
If you happen to look carefully on the PSG squad, there was a major drop in high quality over latest years. There may be nonetheless expertise within the likes of Sakina Karchaoui, Griedge Mbock Bathy and Rasheedat Ajibade, however quite a lot of their prime gamers have joined rivals throughout Europe, which has harm their means to compete.
A extra direct tactical method
Whereas squad turnover is widespread in girls’s soccer, shedding these key gamers has severely impacted PSG’s type of play this season.
High golf equipment normally wish to dominate their opponents by preserving maintain of the ball and controlling possession, however with the arrivals of Ajibade, Jennifer Echegini and Merveille Kanjinga during the last two seasons, PSG have shifted to a extra direct type of play beneath supervisor Paulo Parente.
Within the graphic above we see how a staff’s type of play compares to final season, which highlights any adjustments within the final 12 months. The next variety of passes-per-possession alerts a bent to play with management, whereas the directness highlights how rapidly a facet are inclined to go vertical.
PSG’s passes-per-possession quantity within the UWCL has dropped considerably; in the meantime, rivals OL Lyonnes proceed to be a managed possession facet however have added a zap of verticality to their sport this season beneath former Barcelona supervisor Jonathan Giráldez.
The drop in high quality of PSG’s possession play is clear within the numbers. Their possession share has fallen from 62% final season to 56% this season, whereas their pass-completion charge has gone from 82% to 78%, dropping beneath 80% in a single marketing campaign for the primary time within the final 4 years.
PSG have struggled to sew possession sequences collectively and maintain on to the ball in opposition to opponents when constructing from the again, which has compelled them to go direct as a substitute. That a lot is clear from their long-ball share, which has gone up from 12.6% within the 2024-25 season to 17% now. Certainly, their 104 long-balls-per-game this season is a pointy rise from simply 77 a 12 months in the past.
Defensive weaknesses
The outflow of expertise has additionally affected the staff’s protection this season. Whereas Parente’s facet have held agency domestically — with six of their eight conceded targets coming within the 6-1 defeat to OL Lyonnes in September — they’ve appeared poor when going through up in opposition to prime assaults, conceding 4 in opposition to Wolfsburg and two in opposition to Actual Madrid within the UWCL.
Till 2021, PSG’s protection had been led by present Barcelona star Irene Paredes and the middle again partnership between the Spain defender and Paulina Dudek was essential in them conceding simply 4 targets from 22 video games on their option to the title.
Dudek continues to be within the squad, however accidents have not helped her, and now the protection has appeared much more prone to errors in huge video games.
Former OL Lyonnes defender Mbock has struggled together with her personal accidents, Olga Carmona’s arrival from Actual Madrid this summer season was constructive however the Spain worldwide left again has struggled to manage defensively this season, whereas former Atlético Madrid ahead Ajibade has needed to fill in at proper again for a few video games as effectively.
In the meantime, present No. 1 goalkeeper Mary Earps has struggled as effectively — particularly in opposition to harder opposition. Certainly, in seven video games throughout all competitions this season, Earps has conceded 14 targets and has appeared out of her depth at occasions. Earps’ save proportion (53%) is her lowest throughout any of the final six seasons and her means to cope with crosses been poor. Her cross-collection proportion (3.3%) is among the many lowest within the league this season and opponents have exploited her weak spot in coming off the road in huge video games this season.
The Euro 2022-winning goalkeeper shall be up in opposition to her former facet Manchester United this week with a possibility to interrupt the cycle within the UWCL this season. However with loads of deal with her after her controversial ebook launch, and PSG in a combat for kind, an off-pitch distraction is the very last thing that the French facet want.