Match Analysis: PSG & City Slip Up at the Top

WhoScored’s regular weekly round-up of those significant streaks that have ended across Europe’s top five leagues sees us pay visit to England and France this time round. In the Premier League, Manchester City dropped points at home for the first time this season in a six-goal thriller with Sunderland while over in Ligue 1, PSG suffered a league defeat for the first time under Carlo Ancelotti, handing the advantage to Montpellier at the top of the table:

Wasteful City Held by Spirited Black Cats - Match Report

Man City welcomed Sunderland to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday knowing that a win would see them leapfrog Man United and return to the top of the table. With fourteen straight victories at the Etihad Stadium so far and seven goals conceded, Roberto Mancini’s side were huge favourites for the showdown with Sunderland but a 3-3 draw ended their perfect home record.

City controlled the game, with 64% possession indicative of their dominance, as the Black Cats sat back and broke on the counter. Aleksandar Kolarov produced a superb attacking display from left-back, with 3 key passes and 20 crosses from the flank – as the Player Position map highlights, Kolarov (13) foraged forward into the opposition half time and again, as Mancini’s men pinned the visitors back. 

Carlos Tevez also made an instant impact upon his 58th minute introduction for an off-form David Silva – the Argentine created 3 goalscoring opportunities from a total of 25 passes in a busy performance, though inept finishing from others meant he failed to pick up any assists. For Martin O’Neill’s side, Stephane Sessegnon was the stand-out creator; the Benin international made 4 of his side’s 8 key passes, the only Sunderland player to manage more than one; as a result, he picked up a couple of assists.

In a battling away performance, the Wearsiders proved far superior in terms of the number of tackles, making 22 to their hosts’ 12. Lee Cattermole produced a typically combative display in central midfield, with 6 tackles and an interception, while James McClean’s work-rate on the left saw the Irishman make 5 tackles. Nigel De Jong’s 3 tackles and 4 interceptions provided plenty of industry in the City midfield, though, with 3 tackles and 5 interceptions, James Milner was the most impressive defensive performer for Mancini’s side.

Man City fired off plenty more shots, producing 26 to Sunderland’s 9, but their shooting was fairly poor despite the 3 goals, with only 7 attempts on target. O’Neill’s side, in comparison, scored with all 3 of their shots on target. Many of Man City’s efforts were from distance, however; only 54% of their attempts were inside the opposition penalty box, with their long-range shooting clearly contributing to the number of efforts off target.

Kolarov had the most attempts of any player; a total of 6 shots, with 3 on target, produced a goal for the left-back. Having also picked up an assist, he was awarded the WhoScored man of the match award with a rating of 8.42. Mario Balotelli also missed the target with 3 attempts, though the Italian did score twice from a total of 5 shots. Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko were culpable, too – both players had 3 shots each but managed just one on target between them.

For the visitors, James McClean was afforded the most goalscoring opportunities. With Sunderland attacking down his left flank 39% of the time, the Irishman had 4 shots at goal but was far from impressive in his shooting, with not a single effort on target. Seb Larsson and Nicklas Bendtner showed McClean how to finish – both had just 2 shots each over the 90 minutes, with Larsson netting twice and Bendtner once, as Sunderland’s more clinical finishing put a huge dent in their hosts’ title aspirations.

Mollo Sparkles as Nancy Stun PSG - Match Report

PSG arrived at Nancy undefeated under Carlo Ancelotti in ten league matches but the big-spenders had stuttered in recent weeks, with two Ligue 1 draws and a cup exit at the hands of Lyon. Ancelotti made some big decisions but ultimately, they proved his undoing – the likes of Nene and Mamadou Sakho were unused subs, while Kevin Gameiro was afforded a brief second-half cameo from the bench. Nancy took advantage of the reshuffle, notching a late, late win to leave PSG level on points with Montpellier, but with one less game left to play.

With 63% possession, PSG dominated the match. The visitors attacked down the left flank 40% of the time, meaning Javier Pastore – playing wide left in a 4-3-3 in Nene’s absence – was Ancelotti’s key creator. The Argentine created 5 goalscoring opportunities for his team mates and saw plenty of the ball, making 73 passes for PSG. As the Player Position map shows, Pastore (27, obscured by 9 and 7) drifted high and central when in possession, allowing Blaise Matuidi (14) and Sylvain Armand (22) plenty space to move into from left midfield and left-back respectively.

For Nancy, Lossemy Karaboue made the most passes (41) but, such was the visitors’ dominance of the ball, as many as eight of PSG’s starting outfield ten managed more. With the home side utilising their left flank 44% of the time, Yohan Mollo was their stand-out creative force, with 4 key passes and 10 crosses from his role wide left in a 4-3-3.

In terms of tackles, PSG also led the way by 21 to 14, with Ancelotti’s side quickly winning back possession whenever they lost the ball. Matuidi and Mathieu Bodmer provided tenacity in the central midfield area, with 4 and 3 tackles respectively, in addition to 4 interceptions apiece. Right-back Christophe Jallet also impressed, making 4 tackles and 4 interceptions in his duel with Mollo on the Nancy left wing. Salif Sane produced 6 interceptions for the home side in the centre of the park, while central defensive pair Andre Luiz and Sebastien Puygrenier kept the PSG attacks at bay with a combined 23 clearances between them.

PSG just edged it for goal attempts, producing 15 shots to Nancy’s 13 but had less on target, with 5, compared to their hosts’ 6. Despite his reshuffle in attack, Ancelotti’s front men let him down; Pastore, Jérémy Menez and Guillaume Hoarau had 9 shots between them, with just 2 on target and no goals – indeed, it was left to Sissoko to bag his side’s consolation, netting an equaliser in the 50th minute.

The hosts can thank Mollo for their shock win after an inspired display out wide. Having provided an assist for Bakaye Traore’s early first-half opener, the left winger notched the winner with just two minutes remaining on the clock to pick up the WhoScored Man of the Match award with a rating of 8.81. Nancy’s third straight victory continued their climb up the table and raised major question marks over PSG’s title hopes with just eight matches remaining in the domestic calendar.