Bruges teach PSG the difficulty of the Champions League

The first notice of PSG in the Champions League has come sooner than normal. The Parisians, who looked very favorites today against Bruges, nor they could go beyond the draw in Belgium in a match that exposed to the maximum the shortcomings of a team that did not defend with the trio formed by Messi, Neymar and Mbappé. Ander Herrera advanced to those of Pochettino and Vanaken put the tables on the scoreboard.

The main incentive of the game, beyond the ownership of Keylor and the substitution of Donnarumma, was the expectation to see the magical trio formed by Mbappé, Messi and Neymar. The “MNM”, the term with which they have been baptized in France, started for the first time in the entire season in a match that marked the setting up of one of the top favorites to win the Champions League this season. Bruges was the first stop in the spectacular trinomial that could make history in Paris.

PSG returned to harsh reality in the Champions League. If in Ligue 1 it sweeps simply by name and quality of the squad, in Europe the story is something else. Despite their superiority over Brugge, the Parisians realized early on that they will suffer a lot this season if the attacking three do not help defend. Although Ander Herrera's 0-1 predicted a very quiet night for Pochettino's men, Brujas, which is a high-quality team, especially with the talented Noa Lang, exposed to the maximum the shortcomings of having a team that defends with seven players. Even so, Messi made it 0-2 with a home-brand shot that crashed off the crossbar.

Clement's men leveled thanks to a great goal from Vanaken that showed the lack of help from the midfielders in each rival attack. From then on, the Belgians were a steamroller who could even raise the rent before the break, but an immeasurable Keylor avoided it with two big saves.

If the game was already complicated for PSG, Mbappé's injury at the start of the second half was a pitcher of cold water for Pochettino, which he adjusted after the break, giving entry to Danilo and Draxler to compensate for defensive problems. Instead of squatting down, Bruges was little by little attacking even more and there was a stretch in the match in which the Belgians looked like PSG and the Parisian team in reverse, as they couldn't get out of their field in the face of the suffocating rival pressure. .

The entry of Nuno Mendes by Diallo allowed PSG to oxygenate in attack. The Portuguese generated two clear occasions, one from Messi who missed incomprehensibly on the front and another from Icardi who tried a heel strike, but his maneuver was diverted. A serious warning for PSG, who will face Manchester City on the second day in a game that is more than transcendental for qualification as the first of the group to the round of 16 of the maximum continental competition.