The calendar that awaits Paris after the truce takes on the appearance of a mountain stage of the Tour de France.
The one which sees the favorites derail, fail in the ascent when others advance with great gear, like a dancer to widen the gap, make the opponents crack and end up victorious at the top.
At the end of March and especially at the beginning of April, PSG will approach the end of its season with a series of fairly difficult passes and slopes.
There will of course be a hot Clasico at the Vélodrome on March 31 against a rediscovered Olympique de Marseille, a Coupe de France semi-final at the Parc against Rennes on April 3.
Without forgetting a quarter-final of the Champions League with FC Barcelona on the 10th, with drama amplified by the comeback of 2017, the returns of Luis Enrique and Ousmane Dembélé in Catalonia and a part of the table in C1 which gives rise to great hopes .
And between all that, the reception in Clermont on the weekend of April 7, which will undoubtedly allow us to take a breather to better cross the Pyrenees.
“We want to win the championship as soon as possible”
Before beginning its effort and undoubtedly one of the major turning points of its season, Paris got ahead.
With 10 more points on Brest 8 days before the end of L 1, it is a comfortable cushion that the Parisian coach intends to manage in a meticulous manner through a rotation which will allow each of his players, or at least those who he believes that they are indisputable holders, to breathe and to be ready for the big meetings.
His plan is quite simple: Ligue 1 is an adjustment variable as well as a testing laboratory to prepare for next season without Kylian Mbappé, who could well appear on the bench against the MHSC this Sunday, March 17 in the evening ( 8:45 p.m.).
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But since he established this plan, where the number 7 is less and less present, and the club is convinced that the championship is almost over, the machine has seized up.
With three consecutive draws against Rennes, Monaco and Reims, the French champion saw Brest take three small points from him.
We are not saying that there is anything to worry about, but a victory on the Montpellier pitch would put an end to this bad series and reassure Paris in its plans as a cushy manager.
“It is true that we have just drawn three matches in a row in the league, but I am not concerned about that.
We had very good matches in competitions like the Champions League or the Coupe de France, where we had a very good level and we were very good in Monaco (0-0, March 1).
We don't look at the points gap and we want to win the championship as soon as possible,” said Luis Enrique at a press conference the day before the match as if to play down his team's latest outings in Ligue 1.
A Parisian defeat, coupled with a victory for Brest in Lille on Sunday (1 p.m.), would bring the two teams closer to seven points and prevent Paris from approaching a crucial month of April with this extra ounce of tranquility.
We are still far from that, and the opposite is also possible.
To do this, you will have to pedal one last time to gain time on the pursuers before arriving at high altitude.