Tuesday, November 5, 2024, 16:31
They have never faced each other in an official competition, something strange given that they are two regulars in the Champions League, but the duel that PSG and Atlético face this Wednesday at the Parc des Princes has acquired special relevance. Both set the goal of being protagonists in the top continental competition, but both are far from the expectations generated.
Firstly, the event is marked by the delicate situation of both parties reaching the halfway point of the league. Both the Parisians and the Madrid players are outside the top eight, who have direct access to the round of 16 matches, and even the Colchoneros are below 24th place, that is, even out of the qualifying rounds.
In addition, the fight holds an attractive duel of strategists on the bench between Luis Enrique and Cholo Simeone, neither in their best moment. I know of the fact that the Asturian could have been coach of Atlético before the arrival of the Argentine coach in January 2012 and he also sounds like one of the future prospects at the Metropolitano when the Simeone era ends, with a contract until 2027.
The history of Atlético could have experienced a substantial change in June 2011 in the event that Luis Enrique, not Gregorio Manzano, had ended up at the Vicente Calderón. The man from Gijón was ending his contract with Barça B and Miguel Ángel Gil, CEO of Atlético, intensified negotiations for his signing. In the end, Luis Enrique signed for Roma and the coach from Jaén ended up at Atlético. Lucho returned to the red and white orbit after the World Cup in Qatar, when Cholo was going through a difficult time.
The balance of their matches is very favorable to the Asturian, who has won nine, drawn two and has barely lost three, two of them when he led Celta. In ten games with Barça, he only lost to Simeone in the second leg of the 2016 Champions League quarter-finals, which prevented him from becoming the only Barça coach capable of winning two consecutive gold medals.
Energy
«We already agree as players. He is a top coach, only in this way can you spend so many years in a big club,” Luis Enrique recalled in the preview. «It was true, but I had already given my word to another club. Atlético and its fans were lucky because I would not have been there for even half as many years as Simeone. “I don’t have that energy,” he added when asked about that first attempt by the rojiblancos to sign him. Despite the two consecutive defeats against Benfica and Lille, the former Barça coach distrusts Atlético. «I have no doubt tomorrow he will give his best version, the strongest and most serious. It will be a difficult rival to fight. “I’m counting on us playing at home.”
PSG appears after beating Lens by the minimum and consolidating itself at the top of Ligue 1. In the Champions League, however, they failed at home against PSV (1-1). Before, they beat Girona without fanfare (1-0) and lost in London against Arsenal (2-0). The French champion stands out for the youth of its squad. The tandem in the defensive axis formed by the Ecuadorian Willian Pacho and the experienced Marquinhos stands out. Later on, Joao Neves, the team’s top assistant, stands out, and up top is the emerging Barcola and the destabilizing Dembélé. Lucho hesitates between the sticks between the irregular Donnarumma and the Russian Safonov and suffers from the absences of Lucas Hernández, Kimpembe and Gonçalo Ramos.
It is true that the event is not yet decisive, since afterwards there will be 12 points at stake, but Atlético has made life very complicated for itself. They won at the buzzer against Leipzig (2-1), were beaten by Benfica (4-0) and suffered the unexpected blow against Lille (1-3). It is true that after Paris they would still have Sparta Prague and Salzburg away and Slovan Bratislava and Leverkusen at home, but Atlético urgently needs to win. He has not been in good shape since the derby, although the two recent victories against Vic and Las Palmas have mitigated the crisis, and he is diminished at the back with the losses of winger Marcos Llorente and the central defenders Azpilicueta, Le Normand and the suspended Giménez. In the only precedent, a friendly played in 20108 in Singapore, PSG won 3-2.
Probable lineups
PSG: Safonov, Hakimi, Marquinhos, William Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabián, Dembélé, Barcola and Asensio.
Atlético: Oblak, Molina, Witsel, Lenglet, Reinildo, Lino, De Paul, Koke, Gallagher, Julián Álvarez and Griezmann.
Árbitro: Szymon Marciniak (Polonia).
Time: 9:00 p.m. Princes Park.
TV: Movistar Champions League.
