PSG's measured and patient approach during deep possession phases against Aston Villa's press has been excellent so far in the first half. The tactical context is as follows: Villa's defensive approach: 1. Against PSG's base 4-3-3 formation during possession phases, Emery has instructed the team to press out of a 4-4-2. This implies that Villa concedes a -1 in the first phase. 2. The logic to cover for this numerical weakness is to force PSG down one side and have the far-side winger (Hemmings, in the example below) tuck inside to mark a PSG midfielder (Zaire-Emery). 3. This provides Villa the benefit of having a +1 in the defensive line, which is important against a fluid PSG front three, who also like dropping centrally to create midfield overloads. Thus, a Villa center-back can follow this movement knowing that his teammate offers coverage. PSG's solution: The answer is pretty simple - find the spare man on the far side (Hakimi). However, the details from PSG to make this happen have been top and much harder to perform well on the field and do so consistently. 1. Composure from the backline to not succumb to trying an early long pass. They are able to retain the ball long enough for the far-side Villa marker to fully commit to tracking the PSG midfielder. Meanwhile, this allows Hakimi to find the right angle and space to receive a potential switch. 2. The PSG right winger pushes up to create even more space for Hakimi to receive. Considering the time it takes for the long pass to travel, this is much needed for Hakimi. 3. The PSG midfielders are doing really well to offer movement through constant below, beside, and beyond runs. This provides more short options for PSG to play through. Meanwhile, again on the far side, Zaire-Emery can drag Hemmings to create more space for Hakimi to receive. Overall, PSG have managed to progress through the thirds as Mendes has especially found these switches to access Hakimi. And as a result, Villa can be gradually pinned back from where PSG can create, as they did for the opening goal. That said, from Villa's perspective, I don't think they can do much better with their high press. I feel like they've got their details spot on as it is crucial with this out-of-possession system to know when to press and when to drop. They've made the correct decisions in this regard. PSG have just had too much quality and executed the solutions to a very high standard.

"The best players in the world can play close together and combine... The closer you are together, the faster the ball moves... It can be really really hard to defend."

Aston Villa 1:4 Chelsea Tactical analysis and match report thread