To the wall.
Still under the influence of its recent European disillusion, last Tuesday against Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain must, already and without transition, plunge back into national games.
There will be the Coupe de France next Wednesday in Montpellier, in the semi-finals.
But this Sunday (9 p.m.), at the end of the 36th day, it's time for Ligue 1 and the title race.
"This is the first thing we talked about, said Leonardo, on
RMC
, at the Etihad Stadium, referring to the two competitions in question.
There are three matches left in L1, three finals, we have to stay focused.
It's difficult, but we have to switch straight away, win matches to be champion, our goal.
And there is the Coupe de France.
You have to keep energy.
It is complicated.
But we have already shown that we can achieve good things even in difficult situations. ”
"
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Regarding the Coupe de France, it is indeed a difficult situation, with this trip to La Mosson, against Montpellierers who only have this match in mind, and the prospect of a possible final on the 19th May, against Monaco. But at least Paris has its fate in its hands. This is not the case in the league. What makes the task of Mauricio Pochettino's players even more complicated… Impossible?
One thing is certain: if the Lille leaders, winners in Lens on Friday (0-3), win their last two matches, against ASSE and Angers, they will be champions of France for the fourth time in their history, the first since 2011. And the Parisian ogre will be beaten for the third time under QSI, after 2012 and 2017, As it is, they are four points ahead in the standings. PSG therefore knows what to do this Sunday (9 p.m.), in Rennes. “This result forces us to win to close the gap,” said Pochettino. We have to win our three matches and hope they don't. A mistake by either team can mean losing the title. " And the Argentine coach added: "The title does not depend on us,but it depends on us to win the last three matches to put pressure on Lille ”. Remember that the Bretons do not end the season in freewheeling, unlike the last two opponents of PSG, Reims and Brest, they who are fighting with OM and Lens for a fifth place which could be qualifying in the League. Europa in case of success of… Paris or AS Monaco in the Cup.
Neymar rempile, Mbappé and Verratti packages
To see if Neymar and company manage to find the resources to bounce back after the cold shower in C1.
The extension of said Neymar, formalized on Saturday, allowed to put a little balm in the heart and "demonstrates the ambitions of the club for the future in the short, medium, long term", as said "Pocket", which will also have to compose without Kylian Mbappé (suspended) and Marco Verratti (knee) at Roazhon Park.
“The players were affected by the elimination, it's a huge disappointment.
They can digest it in different ways.
But we are professionals, we must turn the page, he swears.
The challenge is to be ready for Rennes.
The result will depend on our performance, not on the result against Manchester. ”
»
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- Exploits, tauliers, failures… The results of the European campaign of the PSG
In any case, the Parisians have often taken the three points after leaving the European track in recent years. Since taking up residence in the Champions League, during the 2012-13 season, PSG has pocketed victory six times out of eight after elimination, including cards against Lille (6-1, 2015), Caen ( 6-0, 2016), Metz (5-0, 2018) and Dijon (0-4, 2019), but also shorter wins in Troyes (0-1, 2013) and Lorient (1-2, 2017 ). In 2014, however, Lyon had inflicted the double penalty on the Rouge et Bleu, winning 1-0 in the Rhône. Regarding last year, it's different: two weeks had passed between the defeat of Thomas Tuchel's men in the C1 final, on August 23, 2020, in Lisbon, against FC Bayern Munich (0- 1), and the start of the following season,with a trip to Lens which ended in a setback (1-0). The group was decimated, between injuries and the Covid-19, and the German coach had to align an bis team in Bollaert.
Obviously, the Paris-SG, regularly eliminated earlier in the European Cup than this year and rarely bothered to this point in the French championship, has never found itself in the situation which is currently its own.
Moreover, Stade Rennes has only been moderately successful in recent years, with in particular ten matches in a row without defeat in Ligue 1 (7 wins, 3 draws), not to mention the victory in the final of the Coupe de France 2019, at the shoot to the net.
But that was before: PSG remains on 12 successes in its last 17 league matches against the Breton club (1 draw, 4 defeats).
To see if the good series can continue, and with it the dream of a tenth league title.
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League 1 standings