Paris Saint-Germain vs Atletico Madrid
Two defeats and eight goals conceded.
Indeed, it hasn’t been a good pre-season for Thomas Tuchel and his inexperienced Paris Saint-Germain squad after failing to win against Bayern Munich and Arsenal in the ICC 2018. Now, they have one last shot at bringing a smile on their fans’ faces when they play Atletico Madrid.
However, the Madrid giants won’t be a walk in the park. Not after their impressive showing against Arsenal that saw them neutralise the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan—something which Les Parisiens failed to do the last time out.
Talking Points
Although PSG are without their big-hitters—Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani still on holiday after their World Cup exploits—it’s not an excuse for their abysmal showing in the tournament.
One would understand their lack of firepower, but back-to-back defeats and eight goals allowed aren’t the ICC 2018 results their fans expected when the Ligue 1 Champions flew to Singapore to play in the annual affair.
First, they lost 3-1 to Bayern Munich after leading by one goal for one hour. Worst, they yielded those three goals in a span of 20 minutes!
Second, they received a 5-1 thrashing from Arsenal, with the Gunners scoring four second-half goals. Again, Tuchel’s men crumbled after the hour and allowed Arsenal to run riot behind a double from Lacazette and one each from Rob Holding and Edward Nketiah.
While a poor second-half display is common in pre-season games like the ICC, what PSG have shown so far is a cause for concern. After all, they lost by a huge margin in both occasions despite fielding quality players such as Adrien Rabiot, Timothy Weah, Christopher Nkunku and Lassana Diarra.
Not to mention that new signing and Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon is with them, making their poor defensive showing more baffling.
Certainly, Tuchel and Co. can no longer allow another defensive collapse to happen, especially now that they want to improve the depth of their team.
Pre-season games matter little, sure, but champion teams like PSG don’t want their fringe players and substitutes to get used to losing—much more to embarrassing defeats.
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid have undoubtedly taken note of how easy PSG give in to pressure, making it more likely for Diego Simeone to deploy a more forward-thinking approach.
Like PSG, Los Rojiblancos are also missing their star players—including Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin and Diego Costa—but they still have Angel Correa who remain a threat up front. The 23-year-old Argentine star scored eight goals and had four assists in 27 starts for Atletico last season.
Atletico are solid defensively as well, thanks to the presence of first-choice keeper Jan Oblak and veteran defender Juanfran. It’s also worth noting that former Real Betis goalie Antonio Adan is off to a terrific start to his Rojiblancos career, making three saves and scoring the winning penalty in the shoot-out against Arsenal.
“[Adan] has gotten off to a good start,” Simeone said of their 31-year-old summer signing after their win over the Gunners. “He responded brilliantly when he needed to and handled the game very well at the end. He has experience that helps us as a team.”
Atletico Madrid obviously have the advantage, but with PSG determined to end their winless streak, it will be interesting to see what tactics Tuchel will use to guide his team to a nice finish in the competition.
History
It’s been nine years since Atletico and PSG played their lone meeting, a game which saw the two European powerhouses share the spoils in a 1-1 friendly draw. They are yet to play in a competitive game.
PSG have been a regular fixture in the ICC, though, having featured in the tournament’s past three editions. They won in 2015 (North America leg) and in 2016 (United States and Europe leg) but failed to win a single game last year, drawing with Roma in 90 minutes and losing to Tottenham and Juventus.
Meanwhile, Atletico last featured in the tournament in 2016 but played just one match, winning 1-0 against English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur.
What are the odds?
The Atletico Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain betting odds give the Madrid side the slight advantage with 1X2 @ 2.31. Les Parisiens, on the other hand, are at 2.88.
SBOBET Asian Handicap sports betting, however, point to a tight affair, as proven by the Draw No Bet offerings. Atletico are at 0.00 @ 1.76 while PSG are not far off at 2.19 for the same bet.
Given that the two teams have only a combined three goals scored in three games, a low-scoring match is expected. Under 2.75 goals pays at 1.89 while Over 2.75 is at 2.01.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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