Two of the teams at the FIFA Club World Cup who are best at pressing will meet on Saturday when Paris Saint-Germain take on Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
PSG have recorded a PPDA (passes per defensive action) of 7.3 across four games, meaning they wait for the least amount of opposition actions in possession before trying to win the ball back. Bayern are just behind on 7.8 and marginally edge PSG in possessions won in the attacking third (28 to PSG’s 26).
Despite the on-ball quality of both teams, the defining theme of the match in Georgia could be their out-of-possession activity. Here, The Athletic explains why.
Bayern and PSG have already met once this season. That Champions League league-phase clash in Germany ended 1-0 to Bayern, with Kim Min-jae scoring the game’s only goal from a corner in the 38th minute. The winner was created by Bayern crowding the six-yard box to create chaos, a PSG weakness that Arsenal also targeted in the semi-finals.
Bayern scored their first against Flamengo in the last 16 of the Club World Cup on June 29 — an Erick Pulgar own-goal — from a similar situation. The match was a testament to Bayern’s pressing ability too, with both of Harry Kane’s goals coming from forcing turnovers in Flamengo’s defensive third.
Bayern’s pressing structure saw Kane operate as the focal point in a system that aimed to compress space and divert Flamengo to the wings. In this example from the 25th minute, Joshua Kimmich joins Michael Olise and Kane to create a numerical superiority on the right wing. Left-back Josip Stanisic’s positioning in-field allows Kimmich to wander forward, while right-back Konrad Laimer presses the retreating Luiz Araujo.
Laimer harries Araujo back to near his own box and stretches to win the ball, with the move ending in a shot (second frame below).
Bayern used a similar approach in the November meeting against PSG. Jamal Musiala, who will be fit for Saturday’s match, leads the press while Kane drops to mark Vitinha. PSG’s centre-backs Marquinhos and Willian Pacho are some distance away from goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, whose only option is to lob a pass to Achraf Hakimi.
Safonov overhits the pass — a theme throughout the game due to Bayern’s pressing — but Hakimi may have struggled anyway with Kingsley Coman in close vicinity. Any pass to Warren Zaire-Emery in midfield is difficult too, due to Kim pushing out of defence.
Vitinha eventually began dropping deep to receive from Safonov, but Bayern were prepared. Below, Musiala presses him again while Leon Goretzka and Kimmich can mark Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves respectively due to Alphonso Davies inverting to switch onto Zaire-Emery (like Stanisic does above with Gerson). Laimer (not in frame) and Coman are ready to pounce on PSG’s full-backs.
PSG have looked susceptible at the back at times at the Club World Cup, giving the ball away in their defensive third 10 times across four matches. Bayern will punish any such lapses of concentration.
So, what is the solution?
The full-backs are crucial to Bayern’s out-of-possession set-up and Flamengo found a way to eliminate their impact. In this example, Gerson and Araujo occupy Stanisic and Laimer, while Gonzalo Plata and Giorgian de Arrascaeta do the same to their centre-backs. That leaves Goretzka in an odd position and with Serge Gnabry shifting towards the left, Pulgar has space to receive and turn.
The pinning technique worked further up the pitch, too. In the seventh minute, Gerson receives with Stanisic closing him down and passes back into midfield. With Gnabry focused on an open player in midfield and Coman trying to double up on Gerson, two passes to find right-back Wesley’s run turns this into a transition-like situation.
Flamengo used a variation of the same in Bayern’s box to score their opener. As Araujo crosses from the left, De Arrascaeta is in space in the box due to Goretzka and Bayern’s defensive line dropping too deep. Gnabry is ball-watching, which allows Gerson to meet De Arrascaeta’s flick-on and score with a first-time shot.
PSG’s midfielders have a goalscoring knack and will punish these situations if they arise.
After the November loss to Bayern, Luis Enrique admitted that PSG “struggled under the pressure of our opponents”. A simple tweak that should help — as it has since the turn of the year — is keeping their defenders closer to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Inter Miami, their round-of-16 opponents at the Club World Cup, struggled to cope with PSG’s build-up shape and the constant movement of their midfielders.
Miami’s press lacks cohesion and shifts to defensive mode as soon as Fabian collects the ball and turns forward.
Bayern will not make it this easy, but PSG’s strength is in their versatility.
In the Champions League final, Inter man-marked Vitinha and Joao Neves but Donnarumma simply lobbed a pass to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the wing, with Fabian in between the lines to collect.
The alternate strategy was similar to Flamengo’s ploy that hurt Bayern. Against Arsenal, one of Europe’s best teams out of possession, in the Champions League semi-finals, Vitinha and Joao Neves were once again marked tightly.
While PSG’s midfield all moved into central areas in the November meeting against Bayern, this time, they completely vacate that space, which is filled by Ousmane Dembele.
That drags a centre-back and forward out of the pressing shape, freeing up Joao Neves to receive and pass out wide.
There is also PSG’s suffocating press to be considered. Enrique’s side squeeze teams by pushing forward in unison and remove any inside options, often forcing teams to go long, backwards or risk giving the ball away at the back.
This was on show against Atletico Madrid in their Club World Cup opener in which they won possession back eight times in the attacking third.
This example in the moments prior to one of them details how PSG suffocate teams by positioning players in areas that allow them to cover multiple zones.
Atletico are forced back, and PSG apply the squeeze again. As goalkeeper Jan Oblak receives the pass, Desire Doue curves his run based on Oblak’s body shape to put him off passing down the middle. Senny Mayulu initially jogs towards the expected recipient, Clement Lenglet.
Mayulu closes Lenglet down before he can pass, controls the ball, and wins a corner.
While Bayern’s defence is secure on the ball, they have not faced a press this suffocating so far at the tournament. Their backline and midfield pivot lacks explosive speed, which may be crucial to breaking past the PSG press, so head coach Vincent Kompany will need to find innovative solutions while ensuring Bayern’s press from the front is perfect.
