On a crazy and hectic final night of the UCL league phase, Luis Enrique’s PSG confirmed their place in the playoff round with a resounding 4-1 victory over Stuttgart in Germany.

Sebastian Hoeneß’s side had enjoyed a bright start to 2025, but their defeat at the hands of the Parisian outfit meant that their slow start to proceedings in Europe resigned them to an unfortunate 26th place in the overall table.

While the opportunity to continue their continental adventure was certainly on the cards before kick-off, it became quickly apparent that the Ligue 1 champions were looking to put another UCL opponent to the sword, having now scored eight Champions League goals in the space of a week.

This youthful PSG team just exudes confidence at the moment, especially when you consider their frightening attacking lineup, which has been bolstered further by the arrival of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli.

But with the Georgian unable to play until the knockout rounds, Paris Saint-Germain leaned on the technical prowess and physical capacity of their all-French front three to glide into the next stages of the competition, which has eluded them to date.

This tactical analysis will highlight some of the key factors which allowed PSG to comfortably see off VfB Stuttgart, including key positional roles and how Enrique’s tactics could mitigate Stuttgart’s greatest strengths.

PSG Vs VfB Stuttgart Starting Lineups

Sebastian Hoeneß set up his Stuttgart side in a more traditional 4-2-3-1 formation when in possession.

This formation could then seamlessly transform into a high-pressing 4-4-2 and offer a more conservative defensive presence by dropping another player into the backline to create a 5-3-2.

The key personnel change for the home side came between the sticks.

Fabian Bredlow played just his third competitive match of the season, deputising for Alexander Nübel, who missed out due to illness.

Stuttgart’s defensive line consisted of Ameen Al Dakhil and Jeff Chabot as the two central defenders, with Josha Vagnoman and Maximilian Mittelstädt filling in their positions at right and left back, respectively.

The double-pivot of Atakan Karazor and Angelo Stiller looked to continue their impressive partnership and nullify PSG’s threat in the midfield, with Jamie Leweling and Chris Führich offering a threat on the wings.

Enzo Millot lined up as Stuttgart’s key creative talent between the lines, just behind Deniz Undav as the lone striker.

For the away team, Luis Enrique set up in his usual 4-3-3 formation, with key personnel switches to help boost their rest defence and promote the frequency of passing sequences within the wider areas of the pitch.

Gianluigi Donnarumma started in goal for PSG, protected by a defensive line of Achraf Hakimi, Willian Pacho, Marquinhos and Lucas Hernández.

João Neves, Vitinha, and Warren Zaïre-Emery comprised their midfield.

They were all fluid in their roles, adding further confusion to the opposing defence and expressing their unique qualities in and out of possession.

Finally, Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué offered PSG a significant attacking threat from the left and right wing, with hat-trick hero Ousmane Dembélé leading the line in a more centralised position initially.

Achraf Hakimi’s Attacking Influence

Heading into the match, it was clear that Luis Enrique would continue to focus on PSG’s effectiveness in deploying wide overloads and allowing their full-backs to advance into the final third.

This was a crucial factor in their impressive comeback victory against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City last week.

Still, this time, a key personnel change influenced their ability to deploy this strategy on both flanks.

With the high-flying Nuno Mendes unavailable for selection, Enrique opted for Lucas Hernández to play left-back.

The Frenchman failed to match his Portuguese teammate's natural attacking desire.

But crucially for PSG, Hernández instead offered a much more resolute defensive figure to bolster their best defence and protect against any Stuttgart moves in transition whilst also dropping into a back three in their early build-up.

This placed the attacking responsibility on Hakimi’s shoulders, with PSG immediately targeting wide overloads on the right flank to release the Moroccan in behind with his overlapping runs.

Achraf Hakimi Heat Map 

With PSG enjoying spells of possession in the right channel, they could effectively use the third-man principle due to Dembélé's and Doué’s deeper movement in the half-space.

Neves, acting as the key playmaker, lofted passes to stretch the Stuttgart defence.

It became a constant battle for the Stuttgart backline to try and anticipate the attacking movement of Hakimi when PSG would attack in the 3-2-5, with the right-back holding their width and, in turn, occupying Stuttgart’s greatest creative threat in Mittelstädt.