The French representatives have started the 2020-2021 edition of the coveted Champions League very badly. Indeed, PSG and Marseille were beaten on the wire by Manchester United and Olympiakos. While Rennes were held in check by the Russians of Krasnodar.
A disappointing match on the Parisian side
For its first match in this cup with big ears PSG conceded the defeat 2 goals to 1 at the Parc des Princes against Manchester United. Portugal's Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring on a penalty kick in the 23rd minute. PSG, 10 minutes after the return of the locker room, took advantage of a CSC (against his camp) of Martial on corner. Finally, Marcus Rashford crucified the Parisians at the very end of the match on a strike from the box, well served by the incoming Paul Pogba. It should be noted that the offensive animation of Paris Saint-Germain was relatively poor. Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Di Maria lacked inspiration in the zone of truth. Very often they did not make the right choices. In addition, the defensive block was failing and the Parisian midfield was in great difficulty. This can be explained by a lack of technicality, complementarity and automatism between the three midfielders lined up Tuesday night. For its part, Man United played very well the aspect without the ball especially with an interesting individual marking. The collective effort of the Mancunians is to be noted, it is illustrated by a pressing paying several times. The top of this match are definitely the players Bruno Fernandes and the English international Rashford. The other Group J match was between RB Lepzik and Turkish club Basaksehir. 2-0 victory for the Germans. The bottom two in the standings will face each other next Wednesday. Parisians will have more than interest in bringing back the three points of their trip to Turkey.
A failed comeback for the Marseillais
Seven years after its last match, in the biggest competition, Olympique de Marseille lost on the score of a zero against the Greek Olympiakos. It was in extra time that Koka scored to give his team the victory. Note that the former Marseille Valbuena is at the origin of the goal, delivering an assist. The main cause of Marseille's failure is due to its non-existent offensive contribution. One statistic illustrates this: from the 46th minute to the final whistle, Marseille did not shoot at goal. The technical leader of the Marseille attack Dimitri Payet has been transparent. He completely missed his game. As if Marseille had come to Greece to play the 0-0… Except at the end of the match where André Villas-Boas knocked down his last cards with 5 changes in the last 15 minutes. However they did not bring anything, it even benefited the Greeks who crucified the Marseilles on one of the last actions. One wonders why the Marseille coach did not renew his 4-4-2 diamond that had worked rather well last weekend against Bordeaux. Surely a lack of ambition on the part of the Portuguese coach. For his part, Valbuena and his team were more impactful offensively with real actions. Deserved victory. In Group C, group favourites Manchester City enforced the law with a 3-1 home win over FC Porto. Second day that promises to be difficult for Marseille, match on 27/10 against the English cador.
L'OM est sur 10 défaites consécutives en #UCL
❌ 1-2 v Inter (2012)
❌ 0-2 v Bayern (2012)
❌ 0-2 v Bayern (2012)
❌ 1-2 v Arsenal (2013)
❌ 0-3 v BVB (2013)
❌ 1-2 v Naples (2013)
❌ 2-3 v Naples (2013)
❌ 0-2 v Arsenal (2013)
❌ 1-2 v BVB (2013)
❌ 1-0 v Olympiakos (2020) pic.twitter.com/Uyyt3tuUxO— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) October 21, 2020
Stade Rennais may have regrets…
For his first in the Champions League Julien Stéphan's men conceded the draw against Krasnodar. Rennes striker Guirassy had allowed on penalty kick in the 56 to give his team the advantage. Only 3 minutes later, Ecuador's Ramirez equalized with a magnificent left-footed strike from 18 meters. The Russians delivered a real European Cup match, especially in the management of the pace and investment. They are seven kilometers more traveled than Rennes, yet with two fewer changes. Vilhena and Olsson, the team's two metronomes, exceeded twelve kilometers. No Rennes has reached this bar. This makes it possible to measure the physical intensity that an opponent can put in the Champions League. Nevertheless, it must be said that this draw is very frustrating for Rennes. The Breton team delivered a very good performance with a good start to the match, a lot of intensity and a crazy end of the match. Nevertheless, in the Champions League you have to have a killer spirit. Tait can attest to this as he missed two huge chances at the penalty spot in the 70th and 87th minutes. Hunou (90') and Guirassy (90'+6) then paid the price for Safonov's state of grace. Very very nice performance from the Russian goalkeeper who is probably the man of the match. In the end, Rennes delivered a nice introduction in terms of content but this is regrettable in terms of score. The other Group E match between the Chelsea Blues and recent Europa League winners Sevilla FC ended in a 0-0 draw. In the coming weeks, Stade Rennais will have to achieve the feat of taking points against the two favorites of the group.
