No clinical striker, few goals as PSG struggle up front
· CNA · JoinPARIS : Paris St Germain have scored just one goal of their own in three Champions League games after failing to find a suitable replacement for Kylian Mbappe, leaving the Ligue 1 champions with four points and facing a daunting schedule.
Last season, Mbappe scored 44 goals for PSG in all competitions before joining Real Madrid as a free agent, leaving a huge hole behind him in Paris.
In Tuesday's starting lineup against PSV Eindhoven, PSG did not have one player who had scored more than 15 goals in a season during their career and had to rely on fullback Achraf Hakimi to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw.
It was Luis Enrique's side's second goal in three champions League games after an own goal earned them a last-gasp 1-0 win over Girona in the first round of matches in the 36-team league.
"Efficiency was our main problem because we had a lot of chances," captain Marquinhos said.
"We had so many opportunities in the beginning but did not convert while they were more clinical, opened the scoring and it changed the scenario of the match."
Ousmane Dembele hit the woodwork, Bradley Barcola threatened at times and Lee Kang-in had a big opportunity, but none of them have half of Mbappe's killing instinct in front of goal.
Marco Asensio and Randal Kolo Muani, when they came on, did not have any more influence.
"We are among the teams who create the most chances, the team are playing the way I want them to," said Luis Enrique.
"If you look at the statistics, we've been scoring a lot of goals," added Marquinhos, referring to their 25 in the opening eight Ligue 1 games this season.
In the Champions League, they have been far less impressive however and they will play three of their next four games against Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
"Our style of play has changed," Marquinhos argued, without elaborating. "We need to be more calm in front of goal. These are things we need to work at in training and in our heads."
(Writing by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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