enrique.jpg
Getty Images

PARIS -- Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique took a new approach to sorting out his team's inconsistent UEFA Champions League form so far by dropping Gianluigi Donnarumma and Warren Zaire-Emery from his starting XI at home to RC Lens in a 1-0 Ligue 1 win on Saturday. The Italy international goalkeeper and the young France national team midfielder have both been off the boil when it has mattered in Europe so far this season and the Spanish tactician used the game before a big UCL showdown to target a few individuals rather than preparing his starting XI.

Both Donnarumma and Zaire-Emery have gone missing at inopportune times already this campaign with the loss away at Arsenal and the draw at home to PSV Eindhoven two notable examples on top of what was an unconvincing opening win over Girona FC overall from the whole team. The Azzurri star was questionable on both Gunners goals in London earlier this term and has generally been shaky whenever the pressure is turned up on Les Parisiens while the Frenchman has been below-par arguably since his bumper contract extension months ago.

"I think a lot of Luis Enrique because he is fantastic from a human point of view," Donnarumma recently told SportMediaset ahead of the Atletico clash. "He manages to get us to express ourselves better -- he keeps us on our toes and nobody ever feels like they are a second choice. That is very important for the squad. From a soccer point of view, he is a phenomenon and brings us a lot. We must try to follow him as much as possible if we are to get important results."

Matvey Safonov and Fabian Ruiz came into the starting XI against Lens while Marco Asensio was also given another chance as the false nine which has proved to be a challenging role to solve for Luis Enrique since he started experimenting with it. The Russian shot-stopper put in a fairly solid performance in the capital against PSG's northern visitors but was not exactly sternly tested given that it was a fairly fixed back four captained by Marquinhos in front of him with Willian Pachom, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes present.

"I knew that we would have difficulty up against Lens' pressing very high up," said Luis Enrique postgame. "The duels are very strong and the only free player is the goalkeeper. I am obsessed with the idea that all players can and will play. Matvey (Safonov), Arnau (Tenas) and Gianluigi (Donnarumma) must be ready at all times. I want that to be the case with the goalkeepers and for the others. It is an obsession of mine and I work each day on it. Sometimes I succeed and other times I do no but I like to see my players ready to play. Safonov aided a certain superiority for us here and he was very good, I thought. It was not easy for him but I was happy with his showing."

Whether Safonov's showing was enough to dislodge Donnarumma in a meaningful way remains to be seen but it should serve as an electroshock for the Italian who should not consider himself untouchable in domestic or continental games considering some of the avoidable goals he concedes. As for Ruiz, one of Spain's outstanding players at UEFA Euro 2024 this summer as La Roja ran out deserved winners, it was a solid but unspectacular showing alongside Vitinha and Joao Neves which is perhaps exactly what Luis Enrique wants and needs against Atletico Madrid next Wednesday.

Regardless of whether it was Zaire-Emery or Ruiz, the trio is hardly the stuff of second-string starting XIs and it was simply a reminder to the youngster that he is not above being rotated out every now and then if his performances are not up to the level of investment that Paris have put into his deal. The combination of Ruiz, Vitinha and Neves has actually featured far less regularly than you would expect considering the triumvirate's combined pedigree and they would not look out of place from the off against Atleti next week if that is how Luis Enrique elects to play it.

"I consider my five midfielders to all be of a very high level," added Luis Enrique having seen the hosts emerge victorious by a narrow margin despite finishing 11 vs. 10 after Abdukodir Khusanov's red card on the hour. "Fabian is known -- he is a European champion. He plays according to his teammates and he had a difficult game here because there was not much time to think. I am happy with everyone's displays overall."

Marco Asensio was not hugely convincing as the false nine but, in truth, who has been so far? Lee Kang-in, who came on for early goal scorer Ousmane Dembele in the second half, has not exactly thrived there either and all attempts are essentially to find a placeholder for Goncalo Ramos. With so much on the line for both Luis Enrique and opposite number Diego Simeone, the need to resist temptation to experiment against the visiting Spaniards is great which suggests that Les Parisiens' boss could have been doing it here to inform next week's choices.