It was all about the CBs at the Parc des Princes
Raphaël Varane and Sergio Ramos quietly stole the show vs. PSG
I was high on PSG going into their second leg Round of 16 tie against Real Madrid. A 2–0 scoreline wasn’t impossible — especially against a Madrid squad that’s been erratic all season. Plus, PSG demolished Barcelona at home in the Round of 16 last year with a very similar team.
But then I started thinking about how that first leg versus Barca in 2017 had a much different tactical set-up. The Catalans were more exposed defensively at the Parc des Princes. They still had MSN, which meant a lot of pressing, less emphasis getting high numbers behind the ball and a much more free-flowing game.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, were more than content to absorb pressure as PSG pushed forward. Zinedine Zidane knew his team could leave Paris with a positive result by sitting back, clogging passing lanes and patiently waiting for chances to counter.
Midway through the first half, already convinced PSG were doomed because they looked harmless in the final third, I started piecing together a random theory.
As I was watching Marco Verratti skip past a few challenges in midfield before releasing the ball out wide, I started thinking about just how deeply his instincts were directing him. When you’re in the middle of the pitch with two guys flying toward you trying to steal possession, there’s barely any time to consciously make a decision. Your instincts have to take over, because if you wait too long to act, it’s already too late.
That thought about Verratti created a trail of thought leading to Sergio Ramos and Raphaël Varane — Madrid’s two center backs.
The duo had already made a mix of clearances, interceptions and tackles. And, for whatever reason, I started to notice just how differently their minds operate during the course of a game compared to Verratti’s.
Verratti finds himself in countless sequences over 90 minutes. Some are subconscious, like when he’s dribbling himself out of a tight situation; and others are conscious, like when he has the ball in his defensive third with little pressure.
But Ramos and Varane work almost exclusively in conscious thought, focused on reading the game in front of them. While players who occupy offensive zones of the pitch mostly have free license to let their creativity take the wheel, defenders have to crank their focus levels to the maximum when the opposition nears their penalty area.
The stakes are much higher for defenders, too. If an attacker misses a chance, there’ll always be another opportunity. But for a defender, just one mistake can decide a match.
Although this “theory” may seem obvious, I think it’s much more difficult operating as a defender — most specifically a center half — than any other position on the pitch.
While the Parisians were far from inspiring — mostly because Neymar was missing — Madrid’s center backs kept their mind at peace and performed with seeming ease with a dangerously cushy lead, in front of a raucous crowd that was ready to explode if the home side scored first.
It’s easy to focus on Cristiano Ronaldo for notching yet another match-winning goal in the Champions League. And it’s even easier to focus on PSG after a loss that means their entire season is a failure.
But let’s not forget about the exploits of Ramos and Varane. They had a quietly brilliant evening.
