match review Sochaux-Montbéliard

By: j | August 24th, 2008

With the final whistle the Sochaux-Montbéliard – PSG match ended as a well deserved 1-1 draw.

The match started with flair as the home squad got off to a fast start as Stephane Dalmat forced an early response by Mickaël Landreau. With slightly under twenty minutes of match gone, Stéphane Sessegnon was robbed of a goal by Les Lionceaux brilliant ‘keeper Teddy Richert. While Sochaux-Montbéliard controlled much of the balance of the first half, few serious scoring opportunities at either end were made. Mevlüt Erdinç, who as I noted in my preview is a star on the games horizon, didn’t disappoint and continuously drove PSG mad with not his deft passing but his well-planned movement that created a series of openings. Finally the goalless draw was broken at the fiftieth minute mark when after Mamadou Sakho pulled down Mevlüt Erdinçn in the box and awarded a penalty, the young Turkish international calmly stepped-up and drove the ball to the back of the net. Mateja Kežman entered the match six minutes later for Clément Chantôme as PSG went on the assault and it wasn’t too long till the equalizer was found. Led by Ludovic Giuly thundering move from two defenders, PSG came back with a venom as the cagey veteran fed Stéphane Sessegnon with sublime pass who found the back of the net at the sixty-third minute. The home squad continued to pressure but once again, Mickaël Landreau, turned away all efforts and the match ended at a 1-1 draw.

Paul Le Guen will be reasonably satisfied with overall play on the ends of the pitch as the club is making solid improvements but there still is considerable work to do, particularly on the defensive end. General tempo in the attack improved from Bordeaux as they were notably (and rightfully) less on their heels worried of the counter-attack. Marking has improved although they are running into the bad habit of narrowing the field as the match progresses, a sign of weary legs and fitness issues. PSG appears very suspect to aerial attacks and mental lapses, most obviously in the final ten minutes of the match. This must be dealt with as they cannot rely on Mickaël Landreau to consistently save the day.

PSG visit Caen next week and I will follow-up with a match preview.