PSG without stars? A toothless offense, dominance on the ball, and hesitation in the first round. A mediocre Lorient played out a goalless draw in Paris

The new season of the French Ligue 1 kicked off on Friday, but PSG did not play their first game until Saturday evening against Lorient. It can’t be said that the team looked great in terms of play.

PSG have made bold moves. Lionel Messi has left the team after the season, Kylian Mbappé is out and Neymar is also on his way out. Besides, Sergio Ramos, who was one of the key men last season, has left Paris as a free agent.

Apparently, Marco Verratti is not counted on either. PSG last season and PSG in the new one? Two completely different teams. And not just in names, but in terms of the way they play, which is of course the fault of new coach Luis Enrique.

Of course, new signings have also arrived at the Parc des Princes, mentioning Ousmane Dembélé, Milan Škriniar, Goncalo Ramos and Lucas Hernández. Quality players, but certainly not the stars that have graced PSG over the last two years.

And how did the French champion’s first game of the new season actually look? Lorient came to Paris, the tenth team of the last edition of Ligue 1, which also finished 16th two seasons before the last one.

PSG still has many times more valuable squad, as well as more quality players. In a way, it was noticeable, but it didn’t show in the result. Enrique has already managed to instill his signature on the team, but the match ended 0:0.

The Parisians registered almost 950 successful passes, Lorient only got to 218. Possession? Almost 80% on PSG’s side, they dominated in shots too, but the chances created? None at all.

After all, the xG column speaks volumes. PSG’s chances gave a total of 0.65 expected goals from 20 shot attempts. So the offense was completely toothless and the combinations went nowhere.

So Enrique and his charges have a lot to correct in the next round. They will play at Toulouse. Will the club be forced to back down and give Mbappé or Neymar a chance to make an impact in the upcoming matches?

Source: Ligue 1, PSG, Transfermarkt