Paris SG finds itself on the brink of an unprecedented first round elimination in the Champions League under the Qatari flag, after the defeat Tuesday evening in Munich (1-0) which confirmed the limits of the squad and puts the coach Luis Enrique under pressure.
The march was announced high on the lawn of the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich also in reconstruction under the orders of Vincent Kompany, but with a five-star squad.
Determined to add intensity to duels and pressing, the Parisian group was not ridiculous on Tuesday evening. However, he never seemed able to really cast doubt on the big German machine and found himself 26th out of 36 teams, with four small points.
Because when making the transition from the middle to the attack, each time there was a wavering, as since the start of the season in C1. Wingers Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé, PSG’s main weapons in the championship – outrageously dominated – seem very worn out in the prestigious competition.
And coach Luis Enrique persisted and signed, as he had announced, with a constantly changing false 9 as center forward, played sometimes by Fabian Ruiz, sometimes by Dembélé, sometimes by… the left side Nuno Mendes.
“We expect everything because we know we have to be able to play in several positions,” explained Gonçalo Ramos, who has just returned from injury and entered at the end of the match. He implicitly expressed the permanent, double-edged uncertainty created by the coach.
Timoré market
Four training midfielders at kick-off, only two attackers and not the most killers in front of goal: after the defeats against Arsenal (2-0) and Atlético Madrid (2-1), and the draw against PSV Eindhoven (1-1), Luis Enrique bet again, lost again. The scoring opportunities were few in number, and it was ultimately midfielder Joao Neves, a real good pick from summer recruitment, who was the most dangerous with several long-range strikes.
Summer recruitment, precisely: the worm has perhaps been in the fruit since the start of the season. Furious at the departure of Kylian Mbappé, the club management then made up its mind and announced that it would largely compensate for this departure with arrivals.
Las! Led by Luis Campos but supervised by Luis Enrique, the transfer window was timid, with no attacker recruited, apart from the young and inexperienced Désiré Doué, who is eyeing more towards midfield. Result, only three goals scored in five Champions League matches, a pittance.
Even rookie Matvey Safonov, as goalkeeper, disappointed on Tuesday evening: his error in coming out on a corner, which led to the only goal of the match, was strangely reminiscent of the wanderings of Gianluigi Donnarumma. During the warm-up, he seemed stunned by his demotion to the bench. In this position, Luis Enrique ensures some headaches in the future, among other problems.
Imperative victory in Salzburg
The coach who is so sure of his principles, and to whom the club has given everything, finds himself under pressure, even if President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi recently assured that he trusted him in the long term and that he would not not threatened even in the event of elimination from the C1 league phase.
“Being the coach of PSG is a privilege, the pressure I impose on myself is greater than any external pressure,” said Luis Enrique on Tuesday evening. “I’m not here to pass the time, my goal is to win as many titles as possible, right now, not in the future,” he added.
“This is not the end of our Champions League,” assured Gonçalo Ramos, whose return should do good to the Parisian avant-garde.
Indeed, Paris has a chance of increasing its starving total by four points with the last three matches. In two weeks in Salzburg, victory is imperative, but largely achievable. The reception in January of a Manchester City currently in difficulty perhaps offers an opportunity. But Paris should play its qualification – for the play-offs – in Stuttgart during the last match. A meeting which already promises to be extremely tense.
Joao Neves assured him: “The most important thing is to play our football, it’s the best way to qualify, we will remain the same team from start to finish.” And this end threatens to arrive as early as January.
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