Data Report | PSG is more dominant than last season
From the documentary "No tenéis ni p*** idea"
❝A player moving where he wanted implies that there are game situations that I don't control. Next year I want to check them all, without exception❞
Luis Enrique
Most people remained doubtful and displeased with these statements by Luis Enrique, which were being uttered at the end of the last 2023/2024 season, in reference to Kylian Mbappé's much-discussed farewell. Many people, but not all, because for those who understand football in a certain way knew that the needs of Luis Enrique and his staff were other, both to firmly implant their philosophy and to 'break' the chain that saw PSG tied to overly imposing individualities.
Giving up one of the strongest players in the world to do what? To build an even more dominant team. How? By inserting functional players who can best ‘live’ and identify themselves within an organized system (without taking away freedom and creativity, as we will see later). Possible? Yes, because that is exactly what has happened.
Left is the Team Overview of the 2023/2024 season, right is the Team Overview of the 2024/2025 season.
The comparison of these two graphs, explains to us the first substantial change that has taken place, we can see that in the offensive phase PSG is effective in the same way, but in terms of Shot Conceded (from 12.15 a 9.48) it has had a huge improvement, even in comparison to the Ligue 1 average (white graph). This was due to a much more solid and organized phase of possession, with functions for each player defined within the structures used. Even the slight increase in Long Balls has restrained responses in the possession phase, the creation of a solid positional structure in terms of principles brings stable possession maintenance so as to attract and provoke opposing pressures to clear space in depth that is attacked more frequently.
Again we are talking about differences that are not excessive in terms of total percentages (the average went from 66.23% to 69.46%), but not in the stabilization it has had over time, making them acquire greater solidity in all phases of the game.
In fact, as we can see in the next graphs, it was the defensive phase that had an impressive improvement in terms particularly of xG conceded from counter-attacks.
One of the reasons why there has been this improvement can be found within the structures implanted by Luis Enrique this season. Reconnecting with the discourse of functionality, by being able to achieve an overall structural stabilization he has been able to use Nuno Mendes more frequently as a central lateral defender in the back-3s in the build-up phase.
A move that has brought so many benefits precisely with respect to effectiveness in countering counter attacks, through the xG blocked value we can see how Nuno Mendes has been instrumental in this new function of his within the new tactical system, because through his great athletic qualities he allows him to have a higher center of gravity in the use of the Rest Defense Structures, to counteract the loss of possession more quickly and taking advantage of his speed in defending space in the open field.
The term "xG blocked" likely refers to the expected goals (xG) value of shots that are blocked by defenders before reaching the goal.
