Where is Paris Saint-Germain going?
Not in a good way, that's for sure.
If they are virtually autumn champions with 12 points ahead of their Marseille dolphin (the ranking here), who has a game late to play, and that the qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League is already in pocket before the last day of hens, the Parisians are struggling to convince.
This is nothing new.
It's just getting worse and worse.
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Ligue 1 fixtures and results
League 1 standings
The sad draw against Nice (0-0) Wednesday evening, at the Parc des Princes, is the perfect illustration.
No idea, no desire, no effort, curious tactical choices and individual performances at the very least disappointing, like the match unworthy of a sevenfold Golden Ball from Lionel Messi… And again , the evening could have turned sour without
Gigio Donnarumma's
“
big match
” in the cages, dixit Christophe Galtier, up to the Yachine trophy that he presented to the public before kick-off, like Leo Messi his Balloon Golden.
Read also League 1: PSG-Nice, shock in knock
The former Milan goalkeeper, however, needed a big boost from fate, with this post found by Kasper Dolberg at the end of the meeting, all alone one meter from the line.
"
I thought the ball had returned,
" breathed Galtier, also deeming the sharing of points "
fair
".
With more success, the Aiglons, although deprived of the ball, could even have made the perfect shot.
"
This kind of match is complicated, we defend low, there are 80 meters to go to attack ... Obviously, we are less lucid in this kind of case than on actions where we have the ball of a little higher
", analyzes Andy Delort, about the phases of transition badly exploited by his team in Paris.
Sterile domination
Certainly, the PSG had the possession, the "
control
", as indicated by Gana Gueye after the game. But “
mastery was not enough,
” he admitted. “
This is what we lacked in previous matches. We managed to do it this time, but we did not know how to convert the few opportunities we had,
"continued the Senegalese, detecting"
a small step
"forward. An optimistic view. Especially that the control, the Nice people did not want it more than that. “
We wanted to keep a very compact block, a strong team block, we didn't want to leave any spaces. If you leave spaces, with their qualities, they kill you ... It was up to them to find the solutions. They didn't find them, they didn't mark
», Deciphered Morgan Schneiderlin in the mixed zone.
There were some flashes on the Parisian side, some hot situations, with Walter Benitez's double save against Kylian Mbappé in the first period and the duel lost by Angel Di Maria, after the break.
But there were too many inaccuracies, too little accuracy to take advantage of it.
Not to mention the attackers' lack of appetite for defensive retreat.
With or without Neymar, out for six to eight weeks, that does not change.
The technical qualities of the Brazilian were nevertheless lacking in a PSG also deprived of Marco Verratti, at least at kick-off, and Gini Wijnaldum.
“Poche” nevertheless chose to align… three recuperating midfielders (Ebimbe, Danilo, Gueye).
Not ideal for playing games ...
“We are improving little by little. "
Mauricio Pochettino
The message is clear to Rafinha, tricard.
"
We are playing as we should, with the tools we have at the moment
", defends the Argentine coach, adding to be "
satisfied with the evolution
" of his team.
“
We are improving little by little.
We are first in L1 and qualified in C1.
We lacked precision.
Sometimes the ball goes in, and other times it doesn't,
”he continued, going against what we see on the pitch.
Read also PSG-Nice Tops / Flops: Benitez steals the show from Parisian stars in a bad evening
One thing is certain: 11 months after his arrival, the former coach of Espanyol, Southampton and Tottenham is still struggling to find the right formula.
In fact, the 2021 Champions League campaign promises have faded into the wild since the start of the season.
Paris only relies on its exceptional collection of individual talents and… the chance to make results.
A shame.
We do not forget either the formidable strength of character shown so often by the players.
Not Wednesday.
Unrecognizable pouch
This is to understand nothing, when we remember the Mauricio Pochettino "made in England", the one that Schneiderlin worked with for a year and a half with the Saints, between January 2013 and the 2014 offseason. "
Mauricio Pochettino is appreciated in England for his style of play, his pressing.
Maybe it's harder for him to apply it to PSG.
But he's a great trainer.
In England, people have a lot of respect for him,
”promises the former Manchester United player.
To read also League 1: "In England, people have a lot of respect for Pochettino", slips Schneiderlin
A respect that the ex-captain of Paris Saint-Germain will not win on this side of the Channel at the rate things are going.
So we are entitled to wonder if he will end the year on the bench of Paris-SG.
Beyond the results, the Parisian leaders are undoubtedly not fooled by the level of play. Especially with Zinedine Zidane on the market.
“There is no risk of slackening. "
Idrissa Gueye
Perhaps there also he has some decompression in Parisian ranks, with a substantial lead in the league and a match for butter to follow in 'Champions
'
' next Wednesday facing Bruges.
Hypothesis swept aside by Gana Gueye.
“
I don't think so.
We remain professional, we are there to win all the matches.
There is no risk of slackening,
"promises the former Lille.
We only ask to believe it.
But the terrain tells a whole different story.
That of a PSG who retreats instead of moving forward.
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