The postponement of Strasbourg-PSG which was to take place on March 7, is perhaps not so bad news for the club of the capital. Thomas Tuchel's men had an additional day of rest before facing Dortmund on Wednesday, March 11 at the Parc des Princes, and avoided adding to the list of injured.
This setback reminded the less forgetful that the days or weeks preceding the round of last 16 of the Champions League are, for this PSG, often punctuated by a sum of annoyances and details too neglected.
The Trauma of the Ascension
This is not enough to explain the three successive eliminations at this stage of the competition. But these elements of context rekindle the mental fragility of a collective which, before the Barcelona “ascension”, had focused on the alleged partisan treatment of the French press. In 2017, the hexagonal titles including Le Parisien-Today in France, had essentially warned Thiago Silva's teammates about the ability of the Barcelonians to create the feat.
At the time, the capital's club took this as a lack of support, when it was only a warning that materialized in fact. The pre-match was also marked by the injury of Thiago Motta, already suspended in the first leg, and that of Di Maria, double scorer and sparkling in the 4-0 at Parc des Princes.
Until the end of the last training session on the Camp Nou lawn, Unai Emery thought he could start the Argentinian but the latter finally had to take his place on the bench.
Neymar's package and elimination against Real
The next evening, facing the Catalan furia, Paris will suffer from the absence of its two executives as it will never recover from Neymar's package and the psychodrama around his injury a year later against Real Madrid. It is not certain that the presence of the Brazilian during the eighth return against the Madrid winners in the first leg (3-1) would have changed the situation.
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But the injury to the fifth metatarsal of number 10, on February 25, 2018 against OM, had opened the door to a period of uncertainty and instability fueled by Unai Emery himself. Two days after the stretcher's outing on the Parisian star, the Parisian coach said without precautions: "Neymar is the first who wants to play all matches, for Real Madrid, he is very concentrated. I think there is a small option for him to be ready for the match. ” Result the crack of Santos will not resume competition until ... June 3 with the Brazilian selection.
With Neymar's package up, PSG will then try to model a unit that did not really materialize in the first leg, with messages on the social networks of the women of Thiago Silva and Di Maria questioning the composition of the Parisian staff. It must be said that their husbands were on the sidelines at Santiago-Bernabeu. This will not be the case in the return match.
A little before, the club of the capital will even launch the operation "Together we will do it", with images and videos on social networks, as well as an email sent to subscribers and leaflets distributed at the exit of the metro. An incantatory communication that says a lot about the Parisian distress after Neymar's injury. A last resort, especially, which will shatter on the superiority of the men of Zidane deprived them of Kroos and Modric. The expulsion of Marco Verratti, unruly, at the 65th minute, will end up ruining the meager hopes of Paris.
Overflow of confidence before Manchester
Hopes, certainties even, PSG had tons when receiving Manchester United a year later at the Parc des Princes. This time Neymar's new injury and its consequences are perfectly managed. As of January 31, PSG announces the absence for ten weeks of its affected playmaker, January 23 against Strasbourg, at the same footing as a year earlier. Rid of this major questioning, PSG made the perfect match at Old Trafford (2-0 victory) despite the absence of Cavani hit in the hip a few days earlier. “We must stop selling fear. Neymar is ultra-important, Cavani is fundamental, but football is played on a field ", will profess Kylian Mbappé after this success. An injunction aimed at its partners as much as at commentators.
Rid of its anxieties, the Parisian club advances towards its round of 16 return with certainties. Too much ? The day of the match, the staff does not change habits. The players, after a muscular awakening at the Camp des Loges, return home and are summoned to the Parc des Princes at 7 p.m., two hours before the match.
But that evening, traffic is busy around the stadium, and some players arrive late, as a harbinger of the first seizures of the beautiful Parisian machine. After elimination, Thomas Tuchel will defend the thesis of "the accident" and will be irritated by the controversy of delays. But the return to greening is one of the first measures that Leonardo will reinstate after taking office.
It is also in their hotel in Rueil-Malmaison that the Parisians will settle down, Wednesday afternoon, to finally try to chase their demons against Dortmund.