Marquinhos laments PSG efficiency in Champions League draw

Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos lamented his side’s lack of efficiency after playing out a 1-1 draw with PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Parisiens needed a stunner from Achraf Hakimi to salvage a point at the Parc des Princes after Noa Lang had given the Eredivisie outfit a 34th-minute lead.

Luis Enrique’s side have struggled in this year’s competition, with Hakimi’s leveller only their second goal in the Champions League this term, despite netting 25 goals in Ligue 1 this campaign.

PSG dominated for large parts on Tuesday, registering 26 shots, the most against PSV in a Champions League match since November 2018 (30 from Tottenham).

Luis Enrique’s side have also now had 25 or more shots in each of their last three Champions League home games (also 30 against Borussia Dortmund and 26 against Girona).

“Efficiency was our main problem because we had a lot of chances,” Marquinhos said.

“We had so many opportunities in the beginning but did not convert, while they were more clinical, opened the scoring, and it changed the scenario of the match.”

Full-time. A draw at the Parc des Princes against PSV (1-1).#UCL | #PSGPSV pic.twitter.com/bSPTazoO1V

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) October 22, 2024

But for all of PSG’s attempts, only eight were on target, with the Parisiens underperforming their expected goals (xG) total by 1.57.

Ousmane Dembele struck the woodwork in the 18th minute, while Bradley Barcola and Lee Kang-In threatened, but they rarely threatened visiting goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

“We are among the teams who create the most chances, the team are playing the way I want them to,” said Luis Enrique.

“If you look at the statistics, we’ve been scoring a lot of goals,” added Marquinhos, referring to their 25 in the opening eight Ligue 1 games this season.

PSG currently sit 17th in the new Champions League table ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures, with games against Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich to come.

“Our style of play has changed,” Marquinhos said. “We need to be more calm in front of goal.

“These are things we need to work at in training and in our heads.”