PSG Survive the Battle of Bastia and Pick Up 1-0 Victory

After the fireworks against Olympique Lyonnais in the Trophee des Champions, Paris Saint-Germain were brought down to earth a little on Friday night, and although they won 1-0, they struggled to break down SC Bastia in the opening fixture of their Ligue 1 campaign.

A well-taken volley from Layvin Kurzawa was enough to separate the two sides, but Unai Emery will be far from delighted with his team’s overall performance at the Stade Armand Cesari.

Le but de Layvin Kurzawa en vidéo ! #PSG #SCBPSG (via @footendirectcom) pic.twitter.com/Xbc64rRbxL

— PSGsociety (@PSGsociety) August 12, 2016

Away in Corsica, the aim is always just to leave unscathed, and despite the actions of the home players and fans, the Parisians did enough to open with the all-important victory.

However, there were lessons to learn for both the champions and the teams they will take on this season.

Emery admitted after the game, via the PSG official website: 

We’re very happy to have won. The context of the game made things difficult, with a lot of pressure from our opponents and the fans. We played well, particularly in the second half even if there are several things that need improving, things I saw in the first half. That said, the three points will give us confidence. I’m happy with the work put in, the tactical work we have done and very happy with the way the players who came off the bench adapted.

The main concern for the Spanish coach will be PSG’s inability to break down the islanders for huge parts of the game. He’ll also be worried by just how flat they were throughout.

Up until the goal, which was very well taken by Kurzawa, it would have been very fair to say it was quite a disappointing performance. That was magnified by just how good they looked against Lyon last weekend.

OL shot themselves in the foot really. Bruno Genesio set his team up playing a very high line, but it was too high. They also failed to pressure the two PSG central midfielders, who were allowed to pick their passes and find runners with balls over the top.

Bastia didn’t fall into the same trap, and they played the game almost perfectly.

Lyon defending like Arsenal while chasing a goal. They’re 4 down now. Maybe the high line needs changing…

— David O’Riordan (@Ouitone) August 6, 2016

With Sebastien Squillaci and Mathieu Peybernes at the back, they couldn’t afford to play the way Lyon did. That limited the space in behind them.

Alexander Djiku and Florian Marange were excellent on the flanks. On the right, Djiku dealt …

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