Cheese or dessert ?
Mauricio Pochettino will have to decide.
In any case, he has tough choices awaiting him as regards his starting composition.
Three days after their success as heroic as it was unexpected, illogical and almost eccentric but not stolen for all that in Munich, against Bayern (2-3), the Parisians must already put the cover back, at Meinau, against RC Strasbourg.
Kick-off this Saturday at 5 p.m. (on Canal + and live commented on our site), on behalf of the 32nd day of the French Ligue 1 championship.
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Knowing that the quarter-final return against the outgoing European champions arrives quickly, from Tuesday in fact, logic would want PSG to skip Alsace.
Everything for the Champions League.
Except that by dint of toasting jokers, with already eight defeats in the league, including five at the Parc des Princes, the club of the capital is back to the wall.
Especially since the leader, Lille, who won in Paris last week (0-1), put the cover back on Friday, in Metz (0-2).
However, the Garnets held the dragee high to the Mastiffs.
It is nothing to say ... "We are very disappointed because we could have won this match and we lose it", plague the midfielder Farid Boulaya, noting that "to be champion you need success and a good guardian ”.
And the Losc has all that… "Mike (Maignan) was decisive and we had success", summarizes Christophe Galtier, assuring that his team was, a priori, "not programmed" for the conquest of the title.
A priori only: with 69 points, Lille put pressure on their pursuers, relegating Paris Saint-Germain to six lengths in the standings.
Pussyfoot
In short, Pochettino players don't have much choice.
We must win at the Meinau.
Six points behind six days from the end, it would be a chasm.
“We don't have time to think too much about this victory in Munich, we have to focus on Strasbourg, in a difficult context with some absentees.
We only think of Strasbourg ”, promised“ Pocket ”on Friday, in front of the press.
Author of a double in Bavaria, Kylian Mbappé had, from the final whistle, mentioned Strasbourg on
RMC Sport
.
“Focus on Ligue 1,” he confirms on social networks.
"It will not only be necessary to be physically fresh, but also to have quality"
Mauricio Pochettino
Obviously, it is not that simple.
The "Champions" is the ultimate goal of Neymar Jr and company, of the whole club in fact.
More than a goal, an obsession.
Munich will inevitably be in the minds of those who will play this Saturday, it is inevitable.
And in that of their trainer as well.
It remains to be seen who will play.
That's the whole question… "Physical condition will be important because it will be a difficult match," said Mauricio Pochettino.
And the 49-year-old Argentinian technician added: “Strasbourg is a very physical team.
It will be important to detect which players will be the coolest to play.
It should not only be physically fresh, but also have quality.
The medical staff, the performance, everyone is making an effort to ensure that the players recover in the best way and as quickly as possible.
We will have to find the players who will be the most suitable for this match without taking any risk and put them in the best conditions to win. ”
In short, it comes down to sparing the goat and the cabbage.
Behind the scenes of the Parisian victory in Munich on video
To complicate Pochettino's task a little more, the list of players unavailable, injured or sick (Marquinhos, Diallo, Icardi, Kurzawa, Bernat), affected by Covid-19 (Verratti, Florenzi) or suspended (Neymar), is substantial. .
Some of them could return in time for the second round against Bayern, like a "Marqui" on which the doctors must decide between now and Sunday.
Nevertheless, some usual replacements could be brought to start on Tuesday.
Hello migraine.
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Mauricio Pochettino's arbitrations may depend on the outcome of this Ligue 1 season. One thing is certain: Lille have a good head of champion.
18 of the 23 teams which posted a total of 69 points after 32 days were crowned in the end.
Or 78%.
There is no doubt that the Parisian people would be satisfied with a Cup with big ears.
But there is still a long way to go before imagining Marquinhos brandishing the trophy on May 29 in Istanbul… Bayern should already be dismissed, and it is not won, before rubbing shoulders with Manchester City or Dortmund in the semi-finals and without Doubt Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea or Real Madrid in the final.
Some have spoken of a course worthy of the Europa League to qualify the Parisian table until the final last year.
This time, the Rouge et Bleu are entitled to the obstacle course.
The total.
Quickly dismiss the specter of fourth place
Under these conditions, sacrificing Ligue 1 looks like a risky bet.
Especially since Monaco, third, and Lyon, fourth, are respectively only one and two points behind the vice-champions of Europe in the standings.
Needless to say, a non-qualification for the next C1 would look like an industrial accident for the rich "Qatar-SG".
Not to mention the extensions of Neymar and Mbappé (see elsewhere) ... "All that we can say may suggest that we are looking for excuses, but the staff needs time to work on the ground and set up things, which has not been the case so far, underlines Pochettino, who will soon complete his first 100 days at the head of PSG.
But we keep trying to optimize things to get results.
We are happy with these first months.
I played here several years ago (between January 2001 and the 2003 offseason), but being inside the club, I'm happy with the structure.
We know we have to achieve our goals, which is always the case at PSG. "
And the L1 is one of them.
The C1 even more.
PSG: Mbappé impervious to rumors?
Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid next season?
What some Spanish sources put forward Thursday.
Obviously, the entourage of the 22-year-old quickly denied.
In the meantime, he still has not extended and the question of his future is burning.
Enough to disturb him?
"We're used to it," said Mauricio Pochettino, about the rumors.
In clubs at the level of PSG, with top players like Kylian, there will always be rumors.
The most important thing is that Kylian is calm and focused on the team, on the idea of giving the best of himself to achieve our goals.
He is very mature despite his young age.
As I said before, the player and the club are trying to find a deal for Kylian to stay with us for a long time.
This is the wish of the club and we are working on it.
We cannot control what happens outside the club, but to the question of knowing if it can have an impact on its performances, or the atmosphere in the team, I answer no. "
To believe his XXL performance in Munich, Mbappé, currently linked to the reigning French champions until 2022, is indeed impervious to this kind of concern.
One thing is certain: Paris-SG will need its equally effective prodigy on Tuesday, for the second round of this double confrontation against FC Bayern Munich.
And in Strasbourg?
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League 1 standings