Is this what Nasser Al-Khelaifi wanted? Luis Enrique's PSG made a thousand passes in vain

Remember Spain's goalless draw against Morocco in the 2022 World Cup? La Furia Roja made 1,019 passes that day but only had one shot on target before they tumbled out of the competition on penalties. Well, the coach who masterminded such futile football is now in charge of Paris Saint-Germain. And he remained true to his principles.

It's all about passing and possession for Luis Enrique, and it was like that when his PSG hosted Lorient in their Ligue 1 opener. And the game was a horror show - unless you're a big fan of watching players pass the ball back and forth.

Les Parisiens broke the record for the number of passes in a single Ligue 1 game by exchanging 1,002 of them. It's the highest number since Opta started counting that parameter of play at the start of the 2006/07 season.

As Kylian Mbappe sat next to new signing Ousmane Dembele in the VIP box at Parc des Princes, their colleagues only created two chances over 90 minutes.

The six permanent Parisian recruits - Milan Skriniar, Lucas Hernandez, Manuel Ugarte, Marco Asensio, Goncalo Ramos and Kang-in Lee - showed great promise in play and involvement and tried to make something happen in attack. Their attempts did nothing to break down the Bretons, however.

Luis Enrique was still satisfied and felt that his team was not rewarded.

"There is a contradictory feeling. I appreciated the attitude of my players and the behaviour of the defence. Lorient play very good football and they have passed the midway line only three times. The opponent defended a lot, we were better than them, but we didn't create enough chances. He lacked more intense off-the-ball play and efficiency. But we deserved to win."

The Spaniard announced he would rotate his teams heavily for each game because he wanted to keep the players fresh, so it was no wonder he put his captain on the bench.

"Marquinhos on the bench? He had physical problems at the beginning of the week and Danilo is an able deputy, very reliable. You will have to get used to seeing the team change between each match. I always do it this way. If we want to win all the trophies, we have to rely on 20 players."

Despite the opening night setback, the club from the French capital remains the number-one favourite to win the title. Hopefully, they will offer some excitement in their play because nobody wants to watch a 90-minute passing drill with an occasional meek attempt at goal. Nasser Al-Khelaifi never had much patience with coaches - which is something Luis Enrique should have in mind when drawing up his tactics.

LIGUE 1 - MATCHDAY 1

Friday

Nice - Lille 1-1 (1-0)

/Laborde 18 - Diakite 90+3/

Saturday

Olympique de Marseille - Reims 2-1 (1-1)

/Ounahi 23, Vitinha 73 - Ito 10/

PSG - Lorient 0-0

Sunday

14.00: (4.00) Brest (3.50) Lens (2.05)

16.00: (3.60) Clermont (3.50) Monaco (2.15)

16.00: (1.95) Montpellier (3.50) Le Havre (4.40)

16.00: (2.60) Nantes (3.35) Toulouse (2.90)

18.05: (1.45) Rennes (4.70) Metz (8.00)

21.45: (2.85) Strasbourg (3.50) Olympique Lyon (2.60)

***odds are subject to change