PSG beat Arsenal in the Champions League final after both sides cancelled each other out in 120 minutes of play.
The Gunners wasted no time going 1-0 up, indicating what could have been an electric final.
Instead, it conditioned the rest of what was a dull game with the Parisians dominating possession and patiently trying to find and create openings.
But that doesn’t mean there weren’t interesting tactical developments – and even misreads – throughout the match.
How did Luis Enrique and Mikel Arteta impact UCL final between PSG and Arsenal?
Arteta’s gamble pays off immediately
Mikel Arteta stole all the pre-game headlines to Arsenal’s side due to his selections. He placed usual starters Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi on the bench, going with Kai Havertz and Myles Lewis-Skelly instead.
While many may have thought those were huge mistakes, the Spaniard was proven right almost immediately. Havertz broke through on goal in the sixth minute and thumped a brilliant strike in the near post to make it 1-0.
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Granted, there was a bit of luck in the lead-up to the goal. Marquinhos tried to play it long but hit Leandro Trossard and the ball went backwards. But there is a chance this goal would not have happened had Arteta started Gyokeres.
The former midfielder chose Havertz for his nature of dropping deep and playing more as a false nine. It was an attempt to manipulate PSG’s aggressive man-to-man press – a strategy that Squawka suggested would be a big factor heading into the game.
Havertz received the ball in Arsenal’s defensive half looking to drag Willian Pacho with him. He did and played a pass out wide and then started jogging to return to his position as striker.
But he did this ahead of Pacho, so when the ball hit Trossard and went the other way, he had no centre-back left to face because the other one was the Ecuadorian that he dragged out of position to begin with.
Luis Enrique’s course correction
PSG were far from their usual self and played nowhere near to their potential. In fact, Luis Enrique played a big part in them underperforming in the final.
Of course, Arsenal presented a much different challenge from Bayern Munich and Liverpool. And they were much better at defending and protecting the box than lesser sides they faced along the way.
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It’s important to establish that the Gunners did a great job in their low block and denying spaces. But Enrique also didn’t put his team in the best position to win from the start.
They focused nearly 50% of their attacking actions down the right-hand side during the first half. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had plenty of freedom to join Achraf Hakimi and at times even Desire Doue – when they didn’t switch positions.
But they had a perfect mismatch to abuse all along on the other wing. Their wide plays mostly involved wingers cutting inside or centre-midfielders attacking the half-space. However, it was the perfect opportunity to have the wingers holding the width – especially on the left, trying to leave Kvaratskhelia one-on-one with Cristhian Mosquera.
The Spanish centre-back showed vulnerability a few times when having to defend wingers out wide. Yankuba Minteh had a field day against him for Brighton and Hove Albion once, so imagine what a world-class talent like Kvaratskhelia would be able to do.
It took time, but Luis Enrique eventually adjusted. PSG came back to the second half with completely different intentions and trying to attack down the left as much as they could.
They finished the second half with 43% of their attacking actions coming on the left-hand side, but the splits were 59% (left), 15% (middle) and 26% (right) at the 65th-minute mark, when the Georgian won the penalty against Mosquera.
There was also one specific play in the first half that highlighted how this could be a good pathway to entering Arsenal’s box. Nuno Mendes drove right at Mosquera down the touchline and put the ball inside the penalty area, creating a big of havoc but nothing else.
And Luis Enrique might have been lucky to have adjusted in time for the penalty that led to the equaliser. Arteta replaced Mosquera right after, Kvaratskhelia left the game in the 83rd minute and PSG mostly struggled to create.
But that one moment in which Kvaratskhelia took Mosquera one-on-one was timely. And also the exact reason why they had the chance to lift the trophy on penalties afterwards.