UEFA Champions League, Matchday 6, 10/12/2024

After a four-match winless run in Europe, Paris Saint-Germain finally turned the domination of possession into victory with a 3-0 win against RB Salzburg in Austria. 

The Match

Les Parisiens started the match on the front foot and the bulk of possession with the Red Bull outfit happy to sit in a low block and absorb pressure. Hakimi almost ensured that the early pressure of the Ligue 1 champions proved fruitful with an audacious effort from a distance before Schlager palmed the ball into the path of Ramos who couldn’t keep his header down to give his side an early lead. 

After perhaps affording PSG too much respect and surviving the opening minutes without any real scares, Salzburg became more positive in their approach and operated with a higher press. This almost yielded the match’s opening goal as Nene burst in behind from loose possession from the French side but his left-footed shot couldn’t trouble Donnarumma. 

With the game opening up, Vitinha was able to unlock the defence of the Austrian outfit with a pinpoint ball to the far post into the path of Hakimi. The Morrocan ushered the ball towards Ramos to finish from three yards but the Portuguese international got it all wrong and a massive opportunity went begging.  

At the second time of asking, the Portuguese international handed PSG the lead. In a similar manner to his first opportunity, Hakimi was found at the far post and managed to head the ball down into the unmarked Ramos who applied a simple finish from close range. Bradley Barcola almost doubled the lead after being played in by Ruiz but his lifted effort was narrowly wide of the post. PSG led by a goal at the break. 

In the second half, the visitors picked up where they left off and maintained their control of the contest. However, Salzburg were more positive after the resumption of play and this created a more open feel to the match. Despite the more open feel, neither team looked uncomfortable defensively with chances for both sides scarce.

Eventually, Les Parisiens were able to take advantage of the host’s more open defence. Barcola worked well with Doué after the latter supported the former Lyon attacker with an overlapping run. When at the byline, the Frenchman cut back the ball and following a bursting run, Nuno Mendes made no mistake with a powerful finish into the top corner. 

Doué made a major impact from the bench and added a goal to go with his assist. Hakimi linked up well with Lee, leaving the Moroccan in acres of space in the penalty area to slide the ball to the former Rennes attacking midfielder to apply the finish and score his first Champions League goal. 

PSG player ratings:

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 5

Achraf Hakimi – 8

Finding space in the box throughout the night, the Morrocan international was a constant threat to the Salzburg defence. His impressive positioning and movement left him unmarked on multiple occasions and were the recipe for several of the chances created by the Ligue 1 champions. He registered two assists on the night.

Marquinhos – 5

Willian Pacho – 5

Nuno Mendes – 6

João Neves – 6

Vitinha – 7

Fabián Ruiz – 5

Lee Kang-in – 6

Gonçalo Ramos – 6

It was a rollercoaster performance from the striker. With plenty of service, he was afforded plenty of opportunities in front of Schlager’s goal and on another night could have easily scored a hat trick. However, the Portuguese international stuck at it and was rewarded with the match’s opening goal.  

Bradley Barcola – 6

GFFN | Liam Wraith