Tactics Talk: Spot The Difference (Chelsea vs PSG)

Line-ups:

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech, Azpilicueta, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Lampard, Oscar, Willian, Eto'o, Hazard

Paris Saint Germain (4-3-3): Sirigu, Jallet, Alex, Thiago Silva, Maxwell, Matuidi, Verratti, Motta, Lucas, Cavani, Lavezzi

A slightly new take on the Tactics Talk! With these two only squaring up to one another a week ago, I thought it would be fairly pointless to write a post that would be almost word for word the same thing. On first glimpse, you would be forgiven for thinking the two sides have simply fielded the same 11s that started the first leg in Paris. There are a few subtle differences, that I will address in a moment. However, this post will look at those differences, and how it impacted the overall flow of the match, and perhaps the result.

So, going back to the lineups. Chelsea lined up with the same back line and midfield, with the exception of a like for like swap of Frank Lampard for the suspended Ramires. One area that has changed considerably is going forward. Not only has Jose Mourinho made his intentions to attack clear by pushing the two wingers, Hazard and Willian, further up the pitch from the start, he removed the hard-working but ultimately ineffective Andre Schurrle from that ill-judged 'false 9' role. His replacement: the striker he offended least recently! Maybe that's how he works it?

In all seriousness, Eto'o's reintroduction did offer Chelsea another option. His instinctive finishing ability, coupled with his prodigious pace, offered Chelsea the long ball option behind, and guaranteed that the Cameroonian would be on his bike to make runs behind Alex and Thiago Silva. This is where Frank Lampard's inclusion is perhaps more than the like for like swap that it initially appeared. His ability to pick a pass is second to none, and it must undoubtedly have been in Jose Mourinho's plans to get Lampard threading balls through the PSG defence for Eto'o.

In contast, there was one obvious omission from the Parisians' team: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish talisman would be a considerable absence for them, from both a stature and ability standpoint, but their formation and tactics seemed to largely remain the same, with the three holding midfielders offering the pacy wide players the opportunity to break. That is not to say PSG would be parking the bus - they would be looking for goals to put the game to bed.

In the game itself, the opening stages struggled to find the intensity of the week before, with PSG looking comfortable both in possession and without the ball. Unlike the first leg, both sides seemed more than willing to use the wings, with Chelsea particularly favouring the right hand side. This was to be explained 20 minutes in. After a largely anonymous opening quarter, Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard was forced off with a hamstring injury, bringing Andre Schurrle on in his place. Though not as mercurial as the Belgian wonderkid, Schurrle would have his own impact on the match. Towards the middle of the first half hour, Chelsea began to dictate play, but the never came close to breaking the deadlock as PSG's trio of Motta, Verratti and Matuidi seemed more than capable of mopping up any potential threats. Only a silly free kick conceded on the edge of the PSG area gave Sirigu any real cause for concern the first half hour, as Laurent Blanc seemed to have outwitted his opponent tactically.

However, those who have watched a Mourinho side know that he does not go down without a fight, and a switch or two. By continuing to stretch the Parisians, constantly switching Andre Schurrle and Willian to distract the PSG full backs, Chelsea managed to carve out a number of half chances. The defining moment of the first half though, came from a piece of good fortune. After winning numerous headers in the middle of the park, Chelsea tried a Rory Delap-esque long throw to unnerve the French. It worked perfectly, with David Luiz flicking Ivanovic's throw into the path of Schurrle, who flicked the ball beyond the statuesque Sirigu.

And how that changed the momentum! Suddenly, Chelsea looked a threat down the wings, with Schurrle having half-hearted appeals for a penalty turned down. From set pieces, the Blues reigned supreme, with Gary Cahill missing a guilt-edged chance to level the tie. As the first half lulled to a conclusion, Chelsea will have been extremely happy with their first half performance. This continued into the second period, with an extraordinary period of play seeing both Schurrle and Oscar hitting almost the same spot on the bar as Chelsea cursed their luck. The mistake-riddled Marco Verratti was then withdrawn for Yohan Cabaye to shore up the PSG midfield and give them another attacking option. Though PSG did begin to pressurise, the second third belonged to the Blues.

As time began to run out, that old tactic of throwing men forward began to occur, and Chelsea found themselves being caught on the counter. With both Ba and Torres then thrown on in favour of Lampard and Torres, Chelsea bombarded the PSG box, but with little reward. PSG in contrast, made two defensive subs, bringing off the dangerous Ezequiel Lavezzi for last week's heartbreaker Javier Pastore and 19-year-old centre back Marquinhos in favour of Lucas. However, it didn't work. After Edinson Cavani should really have killed the tie on the break, Chelsea broke through (once again with a stroke of good fortune). A deflection on a Torres shot took the ball straight to the much maligned Demba Ba, who stroked the ball off his shin and into the roof of the net under pressure from the defender.

Try as they might, PSG just could not find a way through, leaving Chelsea in delirium. Perhaps those defensive subs from Blanc came back to bite him in the end, as Marquinhos found himself with a chance that Lavezzi may have buried.

So what changed? Was it simply home advantage, or was there something more tactical? It is certainly true that Chelsea looked more defensively assured with Lampard guarding the back 4, rather than the more attack minded Ramires. It is also true that the movement of Willian and Schurrle caused PSG no end of problems, as it completely took the trio of Motta, Matuidi and Verratti out of the game. Throw in a couple of moments of good fortune and a slice of spirit, and you have a truly remarkable comeback that sees a Jose Mourinho side into the final four of the Champions League for the 5th consecutive year. He can't can he...?

Tactics Talk: Paris Saint Germain vs Chelsea

Lineups:

Paris Saint Germain (4-3-3): Sirigu, Jallet, Maxwell, Thiago Silva, Alex, Motta, Verratti, Matuidi, Lavezzi, Cavani, Ibrahimovic

Chelsea (4-5-1): Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Ramires, David Luiz, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Schurrle

What a set of games this Champions League quarter final lot is! After yesterday's thrilling 1-1 draw between Manchester United and Bayern Munich, the footballing gods have laid on another smorgasbord of entertainment here. With battles throughout the field (most notably Terry vs Ibrahimovic and Hazard vs Jallet), there was little doubt in my mind that we were in for a classic. The lineups did little to dampen this. PSG's front line must be the envy of Europe - in my opinion only Real Madrid and Barcelona can come close to the awesome nature of Cavani, Lavezzi and Ibrahimovic (I thought the trio with Hamsik at Napoli was good!). And before Bayern fans start, Mario Mandzukic is a good striker, but he is not Zlatan (whose autobiography indicates that he knows who he is - a good start!). As a result, there was not a doubt in my mind that PSG would score, only how many, and how many Chelsea could get in reply.

Though Chelsea lined up 4-5-1, the team screamed a rather different outlook. In Hazard, Oscar and Willian, the club has three extremely attack-minded midfielders who can also do a job going backwards. With such versatile players, Chelsea could opt to play 4-5-1, 4-3-3, or even 4-2-4 if things got desperate. It is also certain that they would be using the wings to maximum effect. Both Hazard and Willian have chalk on their boots the majority of the match, and with Azpilicueta and Ivanovic always looking to bomb on ahead of them, the English side do not lack an attacking threat. Keeping PSG and their raucous support quiet in the early exchanges was a must.

Unfortunately, not one that was heeded. After just three minutes of almost entirely PSG dominated possession, they had their breakthrough. A fortunate ricochet from a cross fell the way of Ezequiel Lavezzi, and the Argentine chested the ball down before dispatching it expertly into the top corner of Petr Cech's goal. A phenomenal finish put Chelsea instantly on the back foot. However, Chelsea's weakness has never been going forward, and they reasserted themselves well. With the wings a hub of activity for the English club, we began to see the Mourinho-style pass and move we have become so accustomed to. The Portuguese man will not have been pleased to see his men open PSG up on several occasions, only to squander the opportunities with the final ball, with Ramires particularly culpable.

Laurent Blanc, having noticed the peril his side were facing, edited his tactics to reflect this. The 4-3-3 that began the game had evolved into a 4-5-1, with Lavezzi and Cavani slotting in to help out the struggling full backs. This seemingly stabilised the game again, with Chelsea unable to break the Parisians down. However, a series of individual errors handed Chelsea the opportunity to draw level. Marco Verratti, usually one of the more reliable midfielders in world football, seemed intent on giving the ball away on numerous occasions, handing momentum back to Chelsea. Edinson Cavani was equally culpable, but it was left to Thiago Silva, the rock at the heart of the PSG defence, to make the lunging challenge on Oscar that left the referee with little option but to point to the spot. So Chelsea, having not really had a sight of Salvatore Sirigu's goal, handed Eden Hazard the chance of snatching a crucial away goal, which he took gleefully.

First half hour: The Parisians posed the threat from the off with a lightning-fast start, but the Brits had played their way into it, bided their time and are deservedly level at this point.

Now the two sides were level again, PSG could go back to doing what they enjoyed most: attacking. As a result, Maxwell began to have more of an impact on the far side, with his overlapping runs causing Cesar Azpilicueta no end of problems. In a period of the game akin to a boxing match won on points, the next to go close were the Londoners. After a spell of concerted possession but little end quality, a deep cross into the penalty area picked out Hazard at what seemed an impossible angle for a volley. However, no-one had told the Belgian, who cracked a fabulously struck shot off the inside of the far post. After coming so close to leading, Chelsea had to hold on a touch until the half time whistle, but they went in deservedly level, and perhaps frustrated that they didn't have a bit more.

As with the first half, the French side began with vigour, with the wide men playing the major role. Despite the pre-match talk, John Terry was doing an exceptional job of keeping the enigmatic Ibrahimovic quiet, but when Ibra is quiet, that usually frees up Cavani or Lavezzi to do something. And lightning nearly struck twice as a Maxwell cross was glanced just over the bar from an unmarked Argentine on the edge of the six yard area - a real let off for Chelsea. Another player cutting a frustrated and ineffectual figure was Chelsea 'striker' Andre Schurrle. After a game in which he failed to get involved, and was often completely ignored, he was finally replaced by Fernando Torres as we approached the hour mark. With Torres being more of a target, perhaps Chelsea now had something to aim for?

However, another individual error handed PSG the lead once more. More pressure down the left hand side led a error-prone and over zealous David Luiz to bundle Lavezzi to the floor, giving a way a needless free kick. And worse was to follow for the Brazilian. From the resulting free kick, he was unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to turn in Lavezzi's brilliantly delivered set piece and round off a miserable minute for the midfielder. With Chelsea once again behind, they needed to chase the game once more. I have always thought that Luiz is a liability in the defence, and this seemingly reinforced my opinion. Good going forward, but unnecessarily hot-headed and reckless, Luiz should not be played in the centre of defence. Villas-Boas never understood that, but since his return, Mourinho has yet to play the Brazilian in his national side role. This is why, and it is also where the hosts will be vulnerable at this summer's World Cup.

Second half hour: Finished with the goal all of Chelsea's own making, but their overall performance deserved more - a draw would still have been fair.

 

As Chelsea chased the game, they seemed to revert back into their old habits, namely being unable to find the final killer ball, with Hazard and Willian both guilty of wasting presentable opportunities after PSG mistakes. Those mistakes kept coming thick and fast however, and as Chelsea moved closer towards the 4-2-4 I discussed earlier, it seemed only a matter of time before one was taken. However, what happened next changed the complexion again. After racing to try and get in the box, PSG's talisman Ibrahimovic was left clutching his hamstring, and required replacing. In a master stroke, Blanc sent on speed merchant Lucas Moura, who will be well known by fans of Manchester United. Moura's pace and trickery had an instant impact, terrorising the Chelsea centre backs and meaning that Mourinho's men could not push forward as initially hoped.

Such was the Brazilian's impact that the Chelsea manager was forced into a more defensive change, with the attack-minded Oscar withdrawn for the long-ball specialist Frank Lampard. Though not as high up the pitch, the Englishman can turn defence into attack with a single pass, which Mourinho believed would still carry a threat whilst seeing of the danger of Lucas. This seemed to settle the game down, with neither side carving out many clear cut chances. PSG's final two changes were both like-for-like swaps, with ex-Newcastle man Yohan Cabaye brought on for the crocked and underperforming Marco Verratti, whilst the excellent Ezequiel Lavezzi was withdrawn in favour of Javier Pastore. That particular change would have an enormous impact on the final moments.

With the game petering out to a 2-1 home win, and both sides seemingly happy to take that, there was one more moment of magic. Despite running himself into a corner, Pastore managed to wriggle free of three defenders before arrowing a shot past Cech at his near post to hit the Blues with a sucker punch in stoppage time. A 2-1 scoreline can be overcome easily, but 3-1 spells trouble for Chelsea, who now have it all to do in the second leg.

Final half hour: PSG have to win the fight on points. Though Chelsea defended well in the most part, individual errors meant that it was the home side, and not the Brits that have a hugely important lead to take into the second leg.

Laurent Blanc got his tactics spot on tonight. When they needed to attack, he pushed the right men forward, and when they needed to defend, he also had the numbers. Putting Lucas Moura on was an inspired decision, and completely eradicated what could have been a game-changing moment with the enforced withdrawal of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Mourinho did nothing wrong, but his side failed to capitalise on the numerous opportunities presented to them, most of them from PSG players. Another moment of madness from David Luiz cost them dearly, and the stunning individual effort from Pastore rounded off a miserable night for the Portuguese master, and left Chelsea with a huge uphill task to qualify for the semis.

Then again, I remember Chelsea coming back at the Bridge from 3-1 down a couple of years ago against Lavezzi and Cavani, and we all know what happened next... But for Paris, could this be their year?