Luis Enrique is raising the bar for PSG. |
More specifically, the way PSG under Luis Enrique started the game - with a long pass straight into the opposition half, sometimes even straight down the touchline. A seemingly innocuous action that opens up a tactical story full of hidden - and equally ambiguous - meanings.
Luis Enrique, when asked about this “preemptive strike” tactic, only half-jokingly said: “We copied it from Lyon. But I won’t say why.” That answer was enough to create a wave of debate, but the deeper one dug into the data, the more one realized: Lyon had almost nothing to do with it.
Lyon? Just a convenient name?
In the last 11 seasons, Olympique Lyon have only used this long ball… twice. Once in 2016/17, when Lacazette started the second half with a long pass into the Nancy half. The other time in 2021/22, when Lucas Paqueta kicked the ball straight into the stands to waste time after Sparta Prague’s late equaliser.
So, if not Lyon, where does Luis Enrique really draw his inspiration from?
When PSG kick off, they often kick the ball straight out to the sideline towards the opponent's half. |
A data study by expert Jesus Lagos, based on more than 120,000 matches over the past 11 years, clearly shows: French teams are the ones who prefer this type of kick-off the most - but not PSG, Lyon or Marseille, but rather names that few people pay attention to: Chamois Niortais - 54 times, Saint-Étienne - 51 times, Amiens - 49 times, Pau FC - 38 times
All are second- or third-tier teams in France. PSG, in their rich, possession-oriented days, had never used the tactic before – until the final day of Ligue 1 last season, when they surprisingly used it against Auxerre. Then in the Champions League final against Inter Milan. And at the 2025 Club World Cup, Luis Enrique made it a regular opening-game ritual, performing it regularly in every game, even twice in the final, with Vitinha as the permanent starter.
Among the teams that play long balls, Olympique Marseille stand out as a more plausible candidate. Under coach Rudi Garcia – who used to manage Lyon and is familiar to Enrique – Marseille used the tactic 27 times in 2017/18 and 10 more times the following season. If Luis Enrique was inspired by this, it would be understandable. Only he singled out Lyon – a team that is almost irrelevant.
Or maybe he was just saying it… for fun. Enrique is not the type to reveal all his tactical secrets in the press room.
Not Spain, not by chance
If one thinks Enrique brought this idea from his homeland, the data suggests otherwise. In all, Spanish football has used this long ball only 10 times, scattered among teams like Albacete, Osasuna, Granada and Villarreal. There is nothing to learn there.
Under Luis Enrique's hand, PSG has transformed. |
So, although Enrique said he “copied from Lyon”, it is likely that this is the result of a deep tactical analysis by the PSG coaching staff, drawing on experience from Ligue 1 and lower-division French teams. They found an opening plan that allowed PSG to immediately push up, close down the opponent and control the game from the first second - something that is extremely suitable for the total pressing philosophy he built.
In top-level football, the truth is sometimes less important than the message. Luis Enrique may have deliberately "pointed the wrong way" to mislead analysts and defend his new tactics. PSG's continuous and effective implementation of this strategy at the Club World Cup proves that this is no coincidence or game of chance.
Whether “copied” or not, that long serve has now become a new symbol under Luis Enrique – a sign that PSG are ready to impose themselves from the very first moment. And Lyon? Perhaps simply a familiar name, easy to say, easy to attract attention… but absolutely not the true origin.
Only Enrique and his staff know the exact answer. As for us, we continue to guess - and admire - another subtle tactical trick from the Asturian coach.
Source: https://znews.vn/cu-giao-bong-gay-bao-va-su-that-bat-ngo-cua-psg-post1568688.html
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