Because, let’s be honest, this PSG does not provide all the guarantees of security that it should given the quality of its core. Tuesday evening, we even had the impression that the Parisians could have played for three more hours without really worrying Manuel Neuer. Symptomatic of a team that doubts as soon as it sets foot in the Champions League.
In Ligue 1, however, everything is going well. PSG (10 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses) is quietly in the lead with… 36 goals scored in 12 matches, or three per match. The best attack, by far, of the French elite.
In the Champions League on the other hand, the machine seizes up. Suddenly, suddenly. As if the core had not been built for the occasion and that doubts began to germinate again as soon as an opposing defense tightened or the general level went up a notch.
The offensive record after five matches is poor: three goals scored, as many as Stuttgart… or Bruges.
Whose fault is it? No doubt, a little to Luis Enrique who continues to fumble, to hesitate and to turn everything upside down. The fault, also (and above all?) of its attackers, who still fail to make themselves indispensable. Unstoppable in Ligue 1 (10 goals), Bradley Barcola no longer puts one foot in front of the other as soon as the Champions League anthem sounds. Ousmane Dembéléhe makes Ousmane Dembélé. So understand how to be excellent at percussion before systematically missing the last gesture.
Behind, it is very light since Gonçalo Ramos always comes back from injury and Randal Cole Muani is posted by Enrique (63 minutes since mid-October). The Catalan coach is therefore forced to tinker by placing Dembélé, Désiré Doué or… Marco Asensio in a false-nine role. With more or less success, it must be admitted.
More generally, we have the impression that the team lacks leaders. Players who stand out through their talent or charisma. Pillars who know how to bang their fist on the table to remobilize the troops or avoid excess enthusiasm.
Not so long ago, there was Marco Verratti or Kylian Mbappé. Today, the eternal Marquinhos must feel very alone. Alone on board a ship looking for a captain… and a semblance of a soul.
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