Champions League – Faced with Manchester City, PSG at the foot of the wall and a mountain

“I don't think anyone could have predicted that City and PSG were going to have this number of points on Matchday 7.” Everyone was indeed very far from imagining, a few months ago, that we would approach this penultimate day of the League phase with this gentle euphemism, signed Luis Enrique. Paris and City, 25th and 22nd before this day, 15 points between them, two more than Brest or Lille and three less than leader Liverpool, are competing to avoid saying goodbye to their European spring.

Unlike the Mancunian club, Paris was virtually eliminated before the start of this 7th act. Until last season, there were 16 tickets directly qualifying for the 8th. This new formula only offers 8, but 16 others to catch up via a dam. Seeing the French champion virtually out of the picture in this new configuration seems inconceivable.

Paris is playing in the little leagues so far. They have the same number of points as Stuttgart (7), have only scored six goals so far – only Shakhtar Donetsk, Sturm Graz, Girona, Red Bull Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, Young Boys and Bologna had fewer well after six meetings. And faltered as soon as the road rose, against Arsenal (2-0), Atlético de Madrid (1-2) and Bayern Munich (1-0), its only three defeats of the season, this which says a lot.

Facing the Mancunian club, which it has only beaten once in seven times in its history, we will have to put an end to this nasty habit. Put an end to the lack of efficiency or all the other excuses, more or less relevant, put forward so far by Luis Enrique. The timing could have been worse: City are going through their worst season since the arrival of Pep Guardiola.

But it could have been better, while the Citizens have just scored six goals against Ipswich Town while Paris laboriously beat Lens, three days after a success already snatched against Espaly, resident of National 3. PSG positioned itself with its back to wall and facing the limits of his group. The only time he beat the Mancunian ogre, Lionel Messi scored his first goal in the capital after a one-two with Kylian Mbappé.

The workforce is no longer quite the same. The gulf with QSI's best years has rarely seemed so big, like that with his opponent on Wednesday, severely shaken this season, certainly, but heavily armed. “There are nuances because each coach develops his game according to his players, but we have a very similar idea at the start”explained Luis Enrique about this opposition. It's all in the first part of his sentence.

Guardiola now relies on a real number 9, a certain Erling Haaland with whom he won this C1. Luis Enrique is still looking for his best animation and is preparing to shake it up again with the signing of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, not qualified on Wednesday.

On the match sheet, there is no match, in fact. It's up to PSG to prove the opposite. It's up to Ousmane Dembélé to continue his good statistical momentum (five goals in his last three matches). It's up to Bradley Barcola to do better in C1, to Gianluigi Donnarumma to finally be reassuring, to Luis Enrique to choose the right plan. It will take all of this to achieve, put together, what would seem like an achievement. The first of the season, when Paris no longer has a choice.