1 point out of 9, no victory ... The failed start of French clubs in the Champions League

Two losses and a draw.

The debut of French clubs in the 2020-2021 edition of the Champions League has been disappointing.

Paris Saint-Germain lost 1-2 at home on Tuesday against Manchester United.

At the same time, for the first match in its history in the competition, Stade Rennais obtained a point (1-1) against Krasnodar.

This Wednesday, Olympique de Marseille missed its return to C1, after seven years of absence, losing (0-1) in the last minutes of play against Olympiakos.

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The worst record in twelve years

Only one point out of nine possible, it is the worst record of the formations of Ligue 1 during the first day of the Champions League for twelve years.

In 2008-2009, Olympique Lyonnais drew (2-2) against Fiorentina while OM and Girondins de Bordeaux were defeated, respectively against Liverpool (1-2) and Chelsea (4-0) .

At the time, OM and Bordeaux had faced much superior teams.

This year, the disappointment is all the greater as Stade Rennais and the Canebière club have been opposed to Krasnodar and Olympiakos, considered to be the weakest and most acceptable teams in Group E and C. Paris Saint-Germain, finalist of the last edition, was also favorite, on paper, against Manchester United;

especially since the Red Devils were far from confident after their failed debut in the Premier League.

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Paris Saint-Germain's goals in the Champions League in 2019-2020

The general level of play worries

Moreover, in addition to these poor results, what is also worrying is the level of play offered by the three French teams.

Paris Saint-Germain's offensive animation has been relatively poor, relying on the exploits of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé;

the defensive block was faulty and the midfielders sometimes lacked technique and solutions to get rid of the Mancunian pressing.

Stade Rennais, on the other hand, had a rather good match overall but lacked efficiency in the opposing area, a quality that is essential to exist in the queen of European competitions.

OM had a serious first half, before gradually fading away.

The Olympians fished for the construction of the game, with too little movement and percussion and were also very feverish defensively late in the game.

Fortunately, the group stage is still far from over and the French chances of reaching the round of 16 are not wiped out.

The residents of Ligue 1 will however have to raise their level of play and react from the next day, against Manchester City (Marseille), Istanbul Basaksehir (Paris), and Sevilla FC (Rennes).

Read also

• The schedule for the 2nd day of the Champions League

• The Champions League standings