Mauricio Pochettino Analyzed Real Madrid Perfectly
How PSG neutralized Vinícius and fixed the press.
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Much has been said about PSG’s defensive weaknesses and the compatibility of Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, and Neymar Jr. with Mauricio Pochettino’s intense tactical style. In November, I wrote about how difficult it is to defend effectively with only seven engaged players and expressed deep skepticism that this was ever going to work out at the Champions League level.
I’m not sure PSG’s convincing 1-0 victory over Madrid has done much to ease these concerns, but it did reveal what Pochettino and PSG are capable of when they get creative and aren’t required to field all of the Big Three.
With Neymar only just coming back from injury, the Argentinian coach selected Ángel Di María in a nominal 4-3-3. Yet, the real masterstroke was Poch’s deployment of Danilo Pereira in a shifting, pseudo-center-back role,1 which informed everything about PSG’s structure, starting with the press.
The High Press
One gets the sense that the former Spurs man analyzed Real Madrid perfectly, taking note of their conservative tendencies and desire to go direct to Vinícius Jr. against quality, ball-dominant opponents (sorry, Los Blancos weren’t defensive vs. PSG because of away goals).
Danilo’s positioning in a back three put a dedicated body on Vini, which had two linked purposes: it negated the zonal conundrum present in a four-man line (does the RCB stay with Karim Benzema or go with Júnior?), thereby making it easier to deal with any balls in behind.
This, in turn, freed Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi from the fear of leaving space to their backs, enabling them to press their counterparts with full commitment. Within that fundamental outline, the weakest presser (Messi) could drop off on Madrid’s weakest ball-player (Casemiro) as PSG went man-to-man across the rest of the pitch.
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The cherry on top was Di María’s inclusion and positioning on the right, which meant that PSG’s best presser could attack David Alaba — who is easily Madrid’s most potent distributor from the back — before turning his attention to Thibaut Courtois.
The entire set-up — from Danilo’s orientation, to the man-to-man nature, to Di María’s role — was dedicated to neutering Madrid’s left-hand side.
With the original eleven on the pitch, Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão combined for 109 touches compared to Alaba’s and Ferland Mendy’s 82 (25% less). Including the full ninety, the latter duo still paired for less attempted passes (84) than their teammates on the opposite side (91), with Militão and Carvajal completing at mediocre rates — 80.4% and 82.5%, respectively — relative to Alaba (86%) and Mendy (94.1%).
As a result, Madrid’s heat and shot map ended up looking like this:
Di María’s & Danilo’s Defensive Problem Solving
PSG’s outstanding pressing success was further bolstered by the dynamic problem solving of their two main defensive protagonists: Di María and Danilo.
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In moments where PSG were slow to reorganize or Messi had switched off, Paris’ angel swooped in and saved the day, switching onto midfield assignments and rushing Mendy like a raging bull.
Danilo was similarly alert to any structural problems that appeared and stepped into midfield when necessary, working in harmony with Di María and Achraf.
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The first sequence is fluid teamwork at its best and a fine example of the type of tactical processing it takes to keep a press stable over an entire match. The moment Danilo arrives, Di María begins to backpedal towards Mendy, causing Alaba to think twice and circulate to the right. Concurrently, Achraf reads what’s ahead of him and stays deep so as not to compromise Danilo’s adjustment. The whole thing peters out into a sideline pass that’s intercepted.
Stopping the Counter-Attack
Danilo’s importance extended to PSG’s possession game (sort of). On the ball, he didn’t do much from right center-back, recycling to Marquinhos or laying it off to Paredes, Achraf, or Messi.
In fact, given how deep Madrid’s block was, he might’ve added more offensive value trying to overload advanced areas, which were somewhat undermanned as Messi dropped off alongside Paredes, leaving Verratti and Di María to fill in the gaps ahead.
However, Pochettino’s first priority was defense — specifically rest defense when PSG had the ball.
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With Danilo in the back three, PSG assumed an offensive shape that came rather close to mirroring their press.
This established good pressing access for each individual player, requiring minimal reorganization once PSG lost the ball; Poch’s men simply had to traverse a short distance to close down their dedicated assignment.
In the event that the offensive structure was a bit looser, Danilo’s positioning allowed for aggressive, more reactive counterpressing from the midfield, which could charge forward safe in the knowledge that the out ball to Vinícius was covered.
The Compromise
For all of the French outfit’s tremendous dominance, they created awfully little in open play.
A ton can be said about attacking shape, interchanges, passing patterns, blah blah blah, but the fundamental problem was the profiles of the front three. With Messi coming deep like an auxiliary central midfielder and Mbappé spreading wide to go 1v1 with Carvajal, Di María was often left as the lone figure occupying the defensive line — a duty he is decidedly unsuited for.
Although Icardi would’ve been the ideal offensive solution from a pure fit standpoint, Poch was probably fully aware of this defect. It was a calculated trade-off — pressing and defense for a less incisive attack.
Once Messi missed the penalty and the clock wound down, Poch’s assessments changed. Not only was the scoreline still 0-0, but the press had waned naturally. Thus, the gaffer brought off his workhorse in attack for Neymar.
It isn’t a coincidence that this sub directly preceded Madrid’s one sustained period of offensive threat.
But it also isn’t a coincidence that Neymar ended up linking with Mbappé on the late game winner.
Poch managed the match about as well as possible, respecting Madrid’s counter-attacking threat while forcing the battlespace to his opponent’s weaker right-hand side. Through the efficacy of his press, Mauricio knew that PSG would have enough final third possessions to carve out one or two great opportunities (i.e. the penalty), which should be enough to secure the win.
Nevertheless, plans don’t always pan out and he reacted as the reality of proceedings manifested differently, going for more offense exactly when he needed to.
For a guy that has been routinely lambasted for his tactics in France, this victory is a welcome reminder of the magic that Poch can weave when given an eleven that remotely suits his style.
Real Madrid’s Lack of a Response
Alright, we get it. PSG were pretty good. But what on earth were Real Madrid doing?
Some of that performance was to be expected. Despite club doctors reportedly advising Carlo Ancelotti against it, the Italian started Benzema anyway and paid the price. The 34-year-old — normally a crucial cog in Madrid’s build-up — was a ghost, putting more pressure on Modrić and Kroos to step up, which didn’t happen.
That Ancelotti only removed Karim in the 87th minute was baffling beyond fitness reasons. The man-to-man nature of PSG’s press meant that there were opportunities to manipulate the midfield and open up a swathe of space for the forward to drop into, before some some mix of Modrić, Casemiro, Vinícius, or Asensio arrived for the second ball.
Carlo had the ideal forward for this on his bench in Luka Jović; receiving to chest and playing layoffs have always been fundamental strengths for the Serbian. Instead, he was ignored, with Eden Hazard, Fede Valverde, and eventually Gareth Bale coming on way too late to make an impact.
The issues with Carlo’s tactics go well beyond this, but his lack of trust in newer, more youthful options seems rather symbolic of a managerial career that is gradually aging out.
Danilo played as a regular central midfielder when PSG sat off in their defensive block, which wasn’t that often.