2023-12-13 00:38:38
ANALYSE – Current leader of the group, the Ruhr club has alternated between good and bad since the start of the season.
PSG’s back to the wall… yellow. The Parisians travel to Dortmund this Wednesday (9 p.m.), in the Champions League. A decisive match which could just as easily send them to the round of 16 of C1 as to… the Europa League play-off. The Borussia players no longer have this problem: leaders of group F with 10 points, they are already guaranteed to finish in one of the first two places and therefore to continue their journey in the most prestigious European Cup. All they need is a draw against Paris to take pole position. Should the Rouge et Bleu expect a less motivated BVB? “The victory bonus of €2.8 million is still worth making a move, but in any case, it is not in the German nature to waste matches. Plus, you never know how things will develop in a competition. If you can dismiss a direct opponent, you have to do it», note Patrick Guillou.
And the consultant beIN SPORTS to add: “We saw with PSG last year that obtaining first place can be important…” Not false. Starting from first place in its group in the number of away goals scored by Benfica, the capital club was sent into the clutches of Bayern, with the result we know, a sad elimination in the round of 16.
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It’s a roller coaster. When you get into the car, you don’t know if it will be “The World of Dolls” or “Space Mountain”…
Patrick Guillou
Luis Enrique’s men should therefore not expect a demobilized Borussia, that is clear. This does not mean that we can predict which Dortmund PSG will face. In any case, it won’t be the same as in the first leg, shy and cowering, that’s clear. For the rest, since the start of the season, “it’s a roller coaster. When you get on the train car, you don’t know if it will be “Doll World” or “Space Mountain”», laughs Pat Guillou, specialist in German football.
Orphaned by Jude Bellingham and still groggy after the loss of the championship title, this BVB asked a certain number of questions at the start of the season, before losing at the Parc des Princes (2-0). What has changed since then? “Not much in fact… We have the impression that this team is capable of anything, of winning against Milan (1-3) or Newcastle (0-1) but also of getting through it, like in the Cup of Germany in Stuttgart (2-0), where she was curiously absent from the debates, as was also the case in the championship against the same opponent (2-1)», notes Patrick Guillou, not convinced.
However, Dortmund has a squad that some imagine is bloated. Edin Terzic’s players, however, exploded against Bayern (0-4), they who remain in a defeat against another rival in the Bundesliga, Leipzig (2-3). Before that, they had snatched a happy draw from Leverkusen, the leader. “It shows that they are capable, collectively, of getting through difficult matches, like in Newcastle and Milan. This is the paradox», Explains Guillou about this point taken against Bayer. And to continue, more generally: “We are talking about problems of character, cohesion, collective discipline while this team is also capable of uniting, of uniting and ensuring that the facts of the game are favorable to it, that is what is destabilizing. This lack of consistency is quite significant».
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Take advantage of the weakness of the full-backs
One thing is certain: despite a squad provided in quality and quantity, the full-backs do not represent the main strength of the German vice-champion. On the right, it’s the former Parisian Thomas Meunier, plastered since the start of the season, who started last weekend. The Belgian is, however, not registered for the C1. Julian Ryerson is injured and Marius Wolf is uncertain. To see if Niklas Sule will be called upon to help out against Paris, he who is more used to playing in the center. In the meantime, the BVB rearguard is quite heavy. It’s up to Kylian Mbappé and company to take advantage of it. “From the moment there is a problem identified on the opposing full-backs, they must be put in difficulty», underlines Guillou, who imagines that there could be “fire at the tree» if poor performances continue in the league, with matches to come against Augsburg and Mainz to end the year.
«In Borussia’s business model, the objective is to qualify for the Champions League every year and possibly advance to the 8th round. But above all it is to be qualified in C1 for the following season. And for now, BVB is fifthunderlines Patrick Guillou. The idea is also to win a title. There was an opportunity with the elimination of Bayern in the German Cup but they are not present. It is complicated…» A victory against PSG would allow us to get off on the right foot before the last two matches of the year, while BVB 09 remains in three matches without a victory (2 defeats, 1 draw). In C1, however, the Germans are on a series of three victories, having only taken one point after their first two C1 matches.
“To have a Kolo Muani as impactful as in Frankfurt, you have to play on his qualities”
The day and the night. Brilliant with Frankfurt last season, to the point of seducing Didier Deschamps for the World Cup and ordering a €95 million transfer last summer, Randal Kolo Muani is struggling to win in Paris, with “a lot of downside” according to his own admission. Is it serious doctor ? “He doesn’t have the same spaces as in Frankfurt, not the same freedom either,” notes Patrick Guillou, who saw him score 26 goals and provide 17 assists with Eintracht during the past season. He could go anywhere! It is clear that when he is free, when he has space and when he arrives facing the game, it is easier for him than if he has to turn around with the ball. He has the qualities. He has performed well in high profile matches, including on one side. It’s a question of use but also of relationships with others: is it used as an anchor, is it used as a first intention, when it gains momentum… To have a Kolo Muani as impactful as in Frankfurt, as good, you have to play to his qualities. Afterwards, whether he has the qualities to adapt to a club like PSG, time will tell. When you recruit Kolo Muani, the question is what you want to do with it, how you want to use it and who you associate it with, football is simple…” So far, there is no However, nothing is simple in Paris for “Kolo”.
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