How Paris Saint-Germain turned the long throw into a very different kind of attacking weapon

HomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyThe Athletic FC NewsletterPodcastsAFC BournemouthArsenalAston VillaBrentfordBrighton & Hove AlbionBurnleyChelseaCrystal PalaceEvertonFulhamLeeds UnitedLiverpoolManchester CityManchester UnitedNewcastle UnitedNottingham ForestSunderlandTottenham HotspurWest Ham UnitedWolverhampton WanderersChampions LeagueHomeScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsArsenalAtalantaAthletic ClubAtlético de MadridBarcelonaBayer LeverkusenBayern MunichBorussia DortmundCelticChelseaEintracht FrankfurtInternazionaleJuventusLiverpoolManchester CityMonacoNapoliNewcastle UnitedNiceOlympique MarseilleParis Saint-GermainRangersReal MadridTottenham HotspurVillarreal2026 Men's World CupHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsAlgeriaArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBelgiumBosnia-HerzegovinaBrazilCanadaCape VerdeColombiaCongo DRCroatiaCuracaoCzech RepublicEcuadorEgyptEnglandFranceGermanyGhanaHaitiIR IranIraqIvory CoastJapanJordanMexicoMoroccoNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPanamaParaguayPortugalQatarSaudi ArabiaScotlandSenegalSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTunisiaTurkeyUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanGolfHomeTennisHomeFormula 1HomePrime Tire newsletterScheduleFA CupCricketLa LigaHomeScores & ScheduleStandingsTeamsPodcastsCopa del ReyAlavésAthletic ClubAtlético de MadridBarcelonaCelta de VigoElcheEspanyolGetafeGironaLevanteMallorcaOsasunaRayo VallecanoReal BetisReal MadridReal OviedoReal SociedadSevillaValenciaVillarrealEuropa LeagueHomeScores & ScheduleStandingsAberdeenAston VillaCelta de VigoCelticHibernianLilleNiceNottingham ForestOlympique LyonnaisRangersReal BetisWomen's FootballHomeNWSL ScheduleFull Time NewsletterPodcastsOlympicsHomeWinter Paralympics Medal TableMedal TableGlobal SportsCyclingSailingSports BusinessHomeBoxingHomeSerie AHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsAtalantaInternazionaleJuventusMilanNapoliBundesligaHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsBayer LeverkusenBayern MunichBorussia DortmundEintracht FrankfurtRB LeipzigWolfsburgInternational FootballHomeTeamsPodcastsArgentinaAustraliaBelgiumBrazilCameroonCanadaCosta RicaCroatiaDenmarkEcuadorEnglandFranceGermanyGhanaIR IranJapanMexicoMoroccoNetherlandsNorthern IrelandPolandPortugalQatarRepublic of IrelandSaudi ArabiaScotlandSenegalSerbiaSouth KoreaSpainSwitzerlandTunisiaUruguayUnited StatesUSWNTWalesNFLHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyNFL OddsNFL PicksNFL DraftPodcastsScoop City NewsletterAFC EastBillsDolphinsJetsPatriotsAFC NorthBengalsBrownsRavensSteelersAFC SouthColtsJaguarsTexansTitansAFC WestBroncosChargersChiefsRaidersNFC EastCommandersCowboysEaglesGiantsNFC NorthBearsLionsPackersVikingsNFC SouthBuccaneersFalconsPanthersSaintsNFC West49ersCardinalsRamsSeahawksNBAHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksAtlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsMLBHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsThe Windup NewsletterFantasyMLB ProspectsMLB OddsMLB PicksAL EastBlue JaysOriolesRaysRed SoxYankeesAL CentralGuardiansRoyalsTigersTwinsWhite SoxAL WestAngelsAstrosAthleticsMarinersRangersNL EastBravesMarlinsMetsNationalsPhilliesNL CentralBrewersCardinalsCubsPiratesRedsNL WestDiamondbacksDodgersGiantsPadresRockiesWorld Baseball ClassicNHLHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksAtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksMLSHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsAtlanta UnitedAustin FCClub de Foot MontréalCharlotte FCCrewUnitedDynamoEarthquakesFC CincinnatiFC DallasFireGalaxyInter Miami CFLAFCMNUFCNashville SCNYCFCCity SCRapidsRed BullsReal Salt LakeRevolutionSan Diego FCSounders FCSporting KCSt. Louis City SCTimbersToronto FCUnionWhitecaps FCTransfer NewsFPLHomeEPL HomePodcastsLeague CupChampionshipHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsBirmingham CityBlackburn RoversBristol CityCharlton AthleticCoventry CityDerby CountyHull CityIpswich TownLeicester CityMiddlesbroughMillwallNorwich CityPortsmouthPreston North EndQueens Park RangersSheffield UnitedSheffield WednesdaySouthamptonStoke CitySwansea CityWatfordWest Bromwich AlbionWrexhamLeague OneLeague Two Women's EurosHomeScores & ScheduleStandingsBracketNWSLHomeScores & ScheduleStandingsFull Time newsletterPodcastsCollege SportsNCAAFHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsNewsletterRecruitingOddsPicksAlabamaArizonaBYUGeorgiaGeorgia TechHoustonIndianaIowaJames MadisonMiami (FL)MichiganNorth TexasNotre DameOhio StateOklahomaOle MissOregonTexas A&MTexasTexas TechTulaneUSCUtahVanderbiltVirginiaNCAAMHomeTeamsScores & ScheduleStandingsTransfer Portal RankingsNBA DraftBracketAlabamaArizonaArkansasDukeFloridaGonzagaHoustonIllinoisIowaIowa StateKansasLouisvilleMiami (FL)Michigan StateMichiganNebraskaPurdueSt. John'sTennesseeTexasTexas TechUConnVanderbiltVirginiaWisconsinPeakMMAHomeMotorsportsHomePodcastsNASCARCultureHomeMemorabilia & CollectiblesGamingHomeSports BettingHomeFantasy FootballOddsNFL PicksHow Paris Saint-Germain turned the long throw into a very different kind of attacking weaponNuno Mendes has turned his long throws into a surprising attacking weapon Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images Share full articleParis Saint-Germain are a clever team. They dominate possession and territory better than anyone else, attack with mesmerising fluidity and suffocate opponents with intense man-to-man pressing. Luis Enrique has assembled a team of technicians that repeatedly takes apart English opposition at a time when the Premier League is defined by physicality, directness and set pieces. They go into tonight’s Champions League quarter-final second leg at Anfield with a 2-0 lead and the chance to eliminate Liverpool for the second time in two seasons. There have also been European wins over Aston Villa, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur (Super Cup), Arsenal and Manchester City since August 2024. A repeat theme in PSG matches is their long throws. No, not the kind you have witnessed in abundance in England’s top flight this term, where bodies are packed into the penalty area and the ball hurled in hoping for a flick-on or second ball to produce a chance. PSG, almost exclusively from left-back Nuno Mendes, sporadically use long throws in their own half. This caught the eye in the first leg against Liverpool last week. Multiple times, the central midfielders came short to Mendes, as did left winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but these became decoys. The Portugal international instead threw it over heads and into Joao Neves, who made a late run back into the centre of the pitch. Typically, that would be a riskier choice. PSG, though, had weaponised Liverpool’s man-marking against them, dragging red shirts to the touchline and making space infield. Here’s a second example, this time for Vitinha, the far-side midfielder. Right-back Achraf Hakimi has come centrally to support. Four seconds after taking the throw, PSG are away, running at Liverpool’s back line, and Desire Doue has the ball at his feet. A deep dive through all of PSG’s throw-ins reveals interesting trends. In the opposition half, they have launched into the penalty area just twice all season across Ligue 1 and in Europe — against Metz and Rennes, both in February. Primarily, they throw short to the feet of a central midfielder, who either recycles possession or looks for the far-side switch (similar to Vitinha finding Doue above). There are plenty of backwards throws to centre-backs in their Ligue 1 matches, where opponents mostly sit off, and PSG want to maximise their ball-in-play time. Occasionally, they use interesting, basketball-style screens, with one midfielder running laterally behind another. “Not our style,” was how Luis Enrique spoke of the English attacking set-piece revolution in Paris last week. “We try to play the best football, we try to have fun with our supporters, trying to show them the way we play, in an offensive way, trying to create superiority in every part of the pitch,” he added. Their throw-in retention rate is 96 per cent this campaign, the highest in Europe’s top-five leagues. That measures how many throw-ins are next touched by an opponent, and akin to pass accuracy, reflects their safer approach — five of the top seven teams for highest share of throw-ins where opponents make the first contact are Premier League sides. This also explains why PSG can catch opponents out with the rarer, longer throw in their own half. Liverpool were not the first and will not be the last. It worked in the first half of the Champions League final when they beat Inter Milan 5-0. And against Strasbourg in a 2-1 away win in February, as well as in the Super Cup comeback victory over Tottenham Hotspur last summer. PSG have fewer throw-ins than you might expect. They rank 81st of the 96 teams in Europe’s top-five leagues this term for throw-ins per match (16.8), having about the same as Ligue 1 title contenders Lens and Spanish heavyweights Barcelona. Vitinha is a key player in these scenarios. The midfielder has received 148 throw-ins in league and European matches in 2025-26, the most of any player at a major European club. Opponents put such emphasis on defending him and Neves that they mark touch-tight and follow their runs to the ball. PSG showed against Liverpool’s back five how well they can manipulate defences with players making opposite movements (runs in different directions at the same time), and they work those at throw-ins. Typically, it is done early in a match, when opponents have the energy and appetite to press and are not anticipating the infield throw — it has success as a shock tactic. There is another scenario for which Mendes will throw long: when he thinks it is possible to send the left winger through on goal. Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola, PSG’s primary options for that position, both possess great acceleration and raw straight-line speed. It almost came off against Newcastle United in the Champions League at the end of January and away to Rennes two weeks later — for the latter, goalkeeper Brice Samba swept up at the end of his penalty area just in time. Mendes tried the throw-in through ball late on against Liverpool when Kvaratskhelia isolated centre-back Ibrahima Konate, dropped in and then spun. Central centre-back Virgil van Dijk stepped forward to mark Ousmane Dembele and could not provide cover. Ever since winning the Champions League last May, Luis Enrique has insisted that his team must evolve if they are to retain their European crown — something nobody has managed since Real Madrid went back-to-back-to-back between 2016 and 2018. This, in PSG’s own way, is an evolution, and something they have done consistently since last summer but more readily this calendar year. They are never going to be throwing long into the penalty area under Luis Enrique and he insists he will never pick players based on height. But maybe playing — and beating — so many English opposition recently has inspired them. PSG have found a unique way of using long throws. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Liam Tharme is one of The Athletic’s Football Tactics Writers (and sometimes athletics). He graduated from Chichester University with an MSc in Sports Performance Analysis in 2022, and was previously an academy performance analyst. He was one of MHP Group's award-winning 30 Journalists to Watch in 2025. Follow Liam on Twitter @LiamTharmeCoach