Paris and Al-Nassr share the spoils!
In the first match of their Asian tour, Paris Saint-Germain played out a 0-0 draw with Al-Nassr, a game in which they made the most of a sizeable squad and continued their physical preparation. Here's a look back at the match!
The Parisians had a number of goals for this second summer pre-season match - their first in Japan as part of the Asian tour - including finding their feet in the fast-paced Japanese atmosphere, building a new team and increasing their fitness levels. For his very first game open to the public as coach of Paris Saint-Germain, Luis Enrique set himself a number of challenges, including fielding no fewer than 4 summer recruits in his starting XI, with Skriniar, Hernandez, Ndour and Asensio all starting.
In front of a passionate crowd, Luis Enrique's men took on a formidable Saudi side led by the inevitable Cristiano Ronaldo and Seko Fofana. And right from the start, the opposing styles became apparent.
On the one hand, the Catalan's influence was felt, with a team focused on going forward, a high block and a desire to unsettle their opponents through combination play. On the other side, the Saudi team wanted to pounce on every counter-attack, and did in fact threaten after the half-hour mark, even forcing Gigio Donnarumma into a save before half-time to keep out an powerful effort (39').
But if there was one thing to take away from the first half, it was the impact of young Noah Lemina. Intense up front, he never ceased to offer options, showing himself at his very best in his first start for the professional team. And when you remember Warren Zaïre-Emery's first appearances on Japanese soil a year ago, you can tell that this is a promising start to the upcoming season...
And although the Parisian coach decided to look at the squad as a whole, making no fewer than 9 changes on the hour mark, it is worth noting that Lemina was the only outfield player to remain on the pitch!
However, despite the extensive changes, the two teams were unable to swing the game one way or the other. As a result, they had to be content with a draw in a match which, as its name suggests, was above all a warm-up match for the Parisians in search of a sense of familiarity. See you on Friday for the second match of this Japan Tour, against local team Cerezo Osaka!