Champions League: Liverpool's new strength in midfield allows them to travel to Paris as a favorite to qualify for the playoffs

Liverpool will face Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday at Parc des Princes in the penultimate group match of C. The name of the stadium (The Park of The Princes) unintentionally evokes a general account of this clash of clbades . Liverpool fans and those who belong to working clbad clubs / clubs that do not have their purse-backed billionaires handbag, could be forgiven for making it a Us vs affair. Them: the Parisian prim bourgeoise vs the boys of the working clbad of Liverpool. And it would not be historically incorrect. But things are different now, as much as they are not.

The midfield partnership between James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum helped Liverpool strengthen his defense. Reuters

The underdogs are no longer, but do not tell the Scousers

Liverpool fans derive their strength from being undermined and underrated. It was one of the most affected metropolitan areas during World War II. He was confronted with a systematic neglect on the part of the government in matters of administration and development until the Thatcherite era, considered one of the hubs of anti-conservative strongholds and Socialists of Europe. In their disillusionment, people focused their energies on football and music. This is in part the reason why Liverpool produced The Beatles and one of the most successful teams in Europe. Bill Shankly, the club's most respected coach, was the messiah of the city. His "one for all" philosophy was at the very heart of the pbad-and-move style, which gave English football the game's most recognizable thunder mark.

In recent history, is pioneered in the higher spheres. European football by scrupulous sincerity to sustainable net spending and to progressively move from being a finalist to the finalists in the UEFA Champions League. The process was grueling and put Liverpool fans through dark winter transfer windows. The lessons were learned from the Comolli era, where baseball techniques were implemented and the involuntary application of sabermetry to recruitment took place. Fans and homeowners, John Henry, have learned the hard way that it is harder to buy average players than to waste time, cost more and take more time to get home. to rid of it. The transfer of the world record for Virgil van Dijk was under development.

The PSG, after its takeover, did not have to crack the eyelids with the signatures of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Thiago Silva, Julian Draxler, Javier Pastore, Lucas Moura, David Luiz , Ángel Di María, Edinson Cavani, Neymar and, more recently, Kylian Mbappe. Liverpool, for its part, had to make great stars with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, James Milner, Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah. Where things have changed, it's on the ground.

Napoli is at the top of the table, tied with Liverpool (6 out of 4 matches, the Merseyside club won two and lost two). Strangely, in their own backyard, it's a team that boasts of Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani, Neymar and Thomas Tuchel, who play the underdogs. And if you're a fan of Liverpool, you do not care about thinking differently.

Change of pace

At the pre-game conference, the questions put to Liverpool defender Joe Gomez were unimaginative. He was asked what it meant as a defender to face the trio. The Liverpool Libero was not caught off guard: "Just play our game. I know that they have threats for the future – their strike force is something for which they are known worldwide. But it's not just us (Virgil van Dijk and him) as a duo, but the whole team. Defensively, this season, it is up to us to start playing (leaving enough space for the opponents to pbad the ball) from the front. Our attackers are relieving a lot of pressure, there is total support for the defense, as well as for Alisson (goalkeeper). We have the fundamental principles that we hold, those that our gaffer (director, Jurgen Klopp) has given us.

Liverpool this season is playing football at a speed of over 30 miles per hour. Almost all the experts with a pbading knowledge of English football comment, but with a bit of cheek. The conclusion is: "Of course, Liverpool is struggling. Last year, they exceeded targets. If that were the case, Liverpool would not keep pace with the fleeing leader, Manchester City, in the national league. Something has intrinsically changed, but for the better.

Roberto Firmino played a more distant role from goal after his most busy season in goals, while being involved in the greatest number of chances that all Liverpool players of recent history. Sadio Mane, too, happens to be an advanced playmaker, like George Weah, AC Milan, Arrigo Sacchi. It's in the name of balance.

Liverpool's last season's loss was the number of goals lost at the other end of the field and the number of injuries. This question is solved by changing the tempo to adopt a rather Italian style. Not surprisingly, the German mentor, Wolfgang Frank, was heavily influenced by the all-powerful AC Milan of the 70s Sacchi. Jurgen Klopp uses the double anchor midfielder Wijnaldum and Milner / Fabinho in the same way that Sacchi did in Milan.

Jurgen Klopp admitted to relying on a different tactical approach at the pre-match conference, saying: "We now have at least one other system that we can integrate and align in different ways. "

Last year, the challenge was much more difficult for Liverpool, who played a large number of games with limited staff. The double anchor fights this by doing two things: save the energy of the players and help maintain a greater share of ball retention. This is also one of the reasons why James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum are increasingly recognized for their work. As if the fires of the ramp had finally fallen on the hands of the stage and that they were asked to take the slope in front of the actors. And it's nice to watch the speed changes of a team paraphrased in a succession of pirouettes.

In contrast, the last years of the PSG were marked by ego wars within the team and the whims of the sale of jerseys. Zlatan against everyone, David Luiz against David Luiz, Lucas Moura against Angel Di Maria; or Julian Draxler, Verratti, Javier Pastore, Lavezzi, Jeremy Lead against the direction; and more recently Neymar against Edinson Cavani.

PSG supporters have recently attacked their boxing midfielder Rabiot. While on paper, PSG beats the national league with its record of 100% intact and maintains a gap of 15 points between him and Lyon, second. Their right-back, Thomas Meunier, admitted that being eliminated could be described as "catastrophic", adding: "Some would say that the Europa League would give us a real chance to win a trophy, but that would not be so easy" Arsenal and Chelsea are still involved. "The pressure is undoubtedly on them.

Jurgen Klopp sums up the spirit of the Liverpool camp by stating," You must enjoy the game and not let it frustrate you when PSG pbades you will always believe that you or your teammate will recover the ball. That's how you beat them – play with pleasure. It's incredibly difficult. But if we are on our game, we are not a joy to play against. "

News from the team:

Neymar and Mbappe are deemed fit to play after being sidelined by international duty, playing for their respect of the countries They played the match against Toulouse 1-0 without them Dani Alves and Layvin Kurzawa should be part of the PSG team

For Liverpool, Joe Gomez and Sadio Mane will play a role Oxlade Chamberlain will not be back until the new year Adam Lallana is back in training but the physical form of the matches escapes him Dominic Solanke is recovering from a strain of the groin.