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Jair Ventura

Jair Ventura

New member
Di María promises to give the French champions something else, which is why president Nasser Al-Khelaifi coveted him for so long. With Ligue 1 looking like PSG’s to lose already, it’s in the Champions League that Di María’s success or otherwise will really be measured, but the early signs are promising.

The 27-year-old’s goal at La Beaujoire on Saturday afternoon was the pick in PSG’s comeback win, a perfect lob over Rudy Riou, which epitomised grace, vision and technique. It was also his third goal in 4 matches in all competitions, suggesting that he is already well on the way to having the measure of his new challenges.

It’s important that this is the case, and not only as Di María seeks to rehabilitate himself after a season at Manchester United that fell well short of his own standards, even if a final tally of 3 goals and 10 assists in 20 starts suggests it wasn’t quite the unmitigated disaster that many argue. One of his major problems at Old Trafford was that he existed without a defined role, being used as a deluxe utility player by Louis van Gaal.

Already, Di María appears to have been assigned a clear spot by Laurent Blanc - on the right of a three-man attack, as he was used in his early days at both Benfica and Real Madrid. In plain numerical terms, it has paid immediate dividends, with 2 goals and 3 assists in 3 Ligue 1 starts. He also has a goal from his one Champions League appearance against Malmö, with Shakhtar Donetsk next up on Wednesday.

Blanc using Di María in that advanced role is providing him with the opportunity to get more shots away. He averages 3.4 per game in the league to date, more than at any other stage of his club career by some distance.
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http://www.whoscored.com/Articles/a...anced-Position-Giving-Di-Maria-Wings-in-Paris
 
Lutece FC

Lutece FC

New member
3-0 win against Shaktar, a strong team at home.

Very good first half, with a total domination. The second half was clearly for Shaktar, the midfielders (Verratti and especially Matuidi) were not good. Matuidi started like a bomb, now his form decreases

Ibra scores (with the help of Srna), but what a difficult match... His old injury affectes him... Sad, his preseason matchs were very promising... but an injury at his age, it's difficult to back in form.

Strong defense, with an amazing performance of David Luiz, Aurier (1 goal tonight +important saves), and Maxwell. T.Silva was good like ever.

Not good finishing for Di Maria in 3 clear hot situations...

And Blanc doesn't choose Pastore as a starter ... Well, it's official, i hate him. No semi-finals for Blanc this year => OUT.
 
Jair Ventura

Jair Ventura

New member
Aurier 1-0

https://streamable.com/h7dd

Luiz 2-0

https://streamable.com/efd3

Zlatan 3-0

https://streamable.com/of2v


- Excellent first half, weaker in the second. But it's understandable, given the 2-0 lead, travel, and match schedule.

- Aurier is probably one of the better all around RB's I've seen since Alves broke out. Makes mistakes from time to time defensively, but those are few and far between and excusable given his dominance elsewhere. He was a bargain at €10m.

- Ibra seems to still be finding his form. Was wasteful in possession and missed a ton of runs made by the wingers and Matudi. I don't know that he'll ever be the striker he was even a season ago, but I do believe he can become one of the best attacking mids in the world.

- Still not impressed with our combination play in the final third. I think Paris has the quality to be a more dominate side offensively under a more effective attacking scheme. I agree with Lutece in that, if Paris doesn't at least make it to the semi's, I'd like to seen Blanc replaced by Tuchel or Jardim. However, I do appreciation the possession principles he's helped install into the team.
 
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MaxY

MaxY

Devil May Cry
stokebarca said:
Bloody good side though not quite good enough yet to win the CL. Think they will take points off RM in the upcoming two games
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Well there were sides who were much worse and still won the CL. There's also always a chance that teams like RM,Barca and Bayern will eliminate eachother,paving the way for PSG. It's not like they can't beat those teams but it would be much easier if they do PSG a favor and eliminate eachother. I'll honestly be shocked if we pull 6 points,I'd be happy with 4 points from 2 games.
 
MaxY

MaxY

Devil May Cry
Jair Ventura said:
I feel we'll lose away and draw at home. Match will be contingent upon Ibra and Pastore's form imo. Paris is close, but not quite there yet.
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That was also my prediction, a win and a draw but it still depends on plenty of factorts. It's in 20 days so by then we should have James,Bale,Ramos and perhaps Danilo back. We'll be pretty scary if James and Bale get their game feel back.
 
El Flaco

El Flaco

Active member
Aurier's goal vs. Shaktar (0-1)

[gfy]FaintParchedFlee[/gfy]

David Luiz goal vs Shakhtar (0-2)

[gfy]ResponsibleSpeedyCanine[/gfy]

Srna's own goal vs PSG (0-3)

[gfy]IncomparableAdoredAfricanmolesnake[/gfy]

Bonus: Shakhtar had 6 chances in 20 seconds but couldn't score

[gfy]SpicyHonoredCalf[/gfy]
 
M

Morten

Senior Member
I wonder how the midfield battle will turn out. Both Madrid and PSG have strong midfields, but who will win it?
 
serghei

serghei

Senior Member
There's a pretty big chance of an even split: 3pts each, a win for Madrid in Madrid and a win for Paris in Paris. Sounds about right.
 
MaxY

MaxY

Devil May Cry
Morten said:
I wonder how the midfield battle will turn out. Both Madrid and PSG have strong midfields, but who will win it?
Click to expand...

I'm expecting 4 points for us. We're looking decent, and the return of our injured players will be big.
 
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