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“It’s a mix of beauty and frustration,” says the team's head coach. The Paris Saint-Germain manager has a complicated relationship with how his team’s league matches develop. Whenever the Parisians play, one team goes forward and the other protects. “I enjoy facing defensive setups,” he maintains. “It is the phase of play that I am most familiar with. I am very respectful of how other teams play. It is a different kind of football from ours, it’s atypical, but I understand and accept it.”

Accepting low blocks isn’t really a choice for PSG; it is simply their reality, a result of the quality difference created by financial imbalance. Their superior ability generally prevails and the defensive wall is broken with different levels of challenge. However, this campaign has been more challenging.

Game Dominance However Limited Returns

PSG have averaged over 72% ball control in Ligue 1 so far this campaign. Facing Nice in their recent match, they had over 76% possession and made over 750 passes, against just 182 for Nice. By half-time, Vitinha had 90 contacts with the ball – just six fewer than the complete opposition side – but PSG failed to convert their control. At halftime, the visiting team's defender, whose close-range effort was saved by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, had been the most dangerous.

And this game isn’t an outlier. PSG had drawn three of their previous four Ligue 1 games. They had 71% possession against their opponents, but were needing a dying moments Mayulu leveler to earn a draw. Although possessing 77% possession against another French side in midweek, they managed just one goal and were finally tied. Nearly a third of the way into the season, PSG are just fifth in scoring in Ligue 1 – after several other French clubs.

Forward Line Struggles

It is a result of the particular attention that PSG attract, but also indicates a genuine problem. Their forwards are not scoring. Ousmane Dembélé’s 29 strikes last season contributed to PSG's Ligue 1 and the continental trophy; Another attacker scored 14 goals in the league; Another offensive player hit 16 across all tournaments; and The Georgian international scored eight after his January move.

Dembélé won the Ballon d’Or and, while it is debatable that the national team player is indeed the best player in the world, it is challenging to deny that he was not the top performer of the 2024-25 campaign. He has just five scores in 12 appearances this season. He suffered a hamstring injury while on national team service in September, which led to a blame game between PSG and the national squad that has seen the ties between both parties worsen. Dembélé missed around several weeks of action as a result, but he hasn't fully recovered. Post-match against their rivals, he was seen touching his muscle. “The pain is intense,” he told teammate Achraf Hakimi.

Injury Concerns

Their manager says Dembélé will be fit to face Bayern Munich this week in the Champions League but, while he regains his form, squad members need to perform. Unfortunately, Doué cannot help. The former Rennes forward was also hurt in September. He was just getting back to his best when he was suffered another thigh injury, which is expected to rule him out until the new year. The Georgian is a valuable player to his team but he often reserves his top displays for the big occasions in the continental competition; he is yet to score in Ligue 1 this season. Their current top scorer, PSG’s highest goal-getter in all competitions this season, has just a single strike in his last eight matches and is in a dry spell. Something of a purple-patch forward, the form will certainly come back, but he shouldn't be relied upon to be the goalscorer in this expensively assembled PSG attack.

Their center forward got the decisive goal against Nice but will he maintain his position in the team?

That was the job handed to their striker when he arrived in 2023. Their number nine achieved the landmark of 100 appearances for PSG against Nice, but he has come off the bench in over 50% of those appearances. With nearly half his total after coming on as a substitute, he has effectively embraced the role of the “super-sub”, somewhat owing to his limited contribution when picked, but primarily because of his coach's hesitation to start with a traditional striker. “Why do I score so many goals off the bench? Basically because I'm substituted in more often than I begin games,” quipped Ramos after the match.

Critical Moment

With their attack struggling across the attacking unit, Ramos’ last-gasp winner has given his coach something to consider. The striker was unsuccessful with earlier attempts before taking his fourth and deciding the game, but the fact that the team's clearest openings came to him is telling. He’s an instinctive poacher and that is what PSG were buying when they paid substantial money. “He's a crucial squad member for us because he is constantly prepared for every match, regardless of his starting status,” said their coach. “Even brief appearances from Gonçalo are quality minutes.” The moment might have come for the impact substitute to play a leading part.

Ligue 1 Outcomes

• Rennes 4-1 Strasbourg
• Lens 3-0 Lorient
• Lille 1-0 Angers
• Nantes 0-2 Metz
• Toulouse 0-0 Le Havre
• Brest 0-0 Lyon
• PSG 1-0 Nice
• Monaco 0-1 Paris FC
• Auxerre 0-1 Marseille

Current Rankings

Position	Team	Played	Goal Difference	Points
1	PSG	11	12	24
2	Marseille	11	14	22
3	Lens	11	7	22
4	Lille	11	10	20
5	Monaco	11	6	20
6	Lyon	11	4	20
7	Strasbourg	11	6	19
8	Nice	11	0	17
9	Toulouse	11	2	15
10	Rennes	11	1	15
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