“We are one of the best teams in the Champions League.” A few minutes after the final whistle of the lost match this Wednesday evening against Atlético de Madrid (1-2)Luis Enrique’s statement on Tuesday on the eve of the fourth European Cup match of the season resonates with a somewhat surprising tone. It’s just a snapshot of the moment, but it’s cause for concern. Halfway through its eight C1 matches, its PSG is 25th with four points, five goals conceded and three scored including a CSC against Girona in the opener.
Which made the same Luis Enrique say, at a press conference, in a burst of sincerity, that “the qualification is compromised, without a doubt”, after a “shit evening”. »
The results are poor and after Wednesday’s defeat, Paris finds itself at the back of the pack, behind Bruges or Feyenoord and just ahead of teams like Sparta Prague, Stuttgart, its last opponent in the qualifying phase or even the Shakhtar Donetsk, Girona, Salzburg and others. Far from the European elite of which the French champion would be a part.
If we look ahead a little further, what happens next is enough to make you dizzy. Paris will travel twice for the next two matches and the meeting against Bayern Munich (November 26) is already very scary, as is the reception against Manchester City (January 22). In a winless scenario against these two behemoths, who will need points after a far from ideal start to the competition, qualification looks complex but not impossible.
“There are four finals left”
If they were to win against RB Salzburg and Stuttgart, they would total 10 points and should be one of the sixteen teams to play in a play-off round in February. To make it short, this PSG and its three goals from 81 shots attempted, seems well on its way to having to fight until the last day. An outcome that Luis Enrique corroborated at the microphone of Canal + in the wake of the defeat. “We will fight until the end. It’s hard to explain the result, I have over 30 years in football and I don’t know how to explain it, it’s just bad luck. »
But basically, what can a team now hope for that has only scored three goals in four games, that has so many shortcomings and that lacks so much expression in its game? Can it really claim to be one of the 24 best European teams when it appears so casual and far from the standards required by this very demanding competition? Does she really have her place in this circle which is not so closed after all?
Determined and optimistic at heart, Luis Enrique wants, as always, to see the glass half full and believes that the balance sheet does not reflect the quality of his team which should have five more points which would place them, as they stand. , up to the top 8… “I believe that during our three home matches, we were infinitely superior to our opponents but we were unlucky,” said the Spanish technician. We should have won our three home games and won them easily. This competition started in a strange way with an abnormal draw for a team from pot 1. It’s going to be very difficult. There are four finals left. We still have four games to change the situation. »
“We are not worried”
Marquinhos’ partners also do not want to totally sound the alarm but the awareness is now real in the group: Paris can no longer afford to drop so many points en route if it wants, at least less, hope to glimpse a play-off that looks like a round of 16. “We said it in the locker room, we no longer have the right to make mistakes,” underlined the Parisian captain. We are going to have big matches to play. We will have to look for difficult points outside. I have been here for 10-11 years and I know that we can be penalized in the small details. »
PSG’s upcoming Champions League schedule:
November 26 in Munich (Germany)
December 10 in Salzburg (Austria)
January 22 against Manchester City (England)
January 29 against Stuttgart (Germany)
At 18 years old, Warren Zaire-Emery was ultimately the least alarmist of the Parisian actors who came to appear before the media. The only Parisian scorer wanted to keep the positive from this evening and retain the state of mind of his team: in his eyes, this determination, coupled with a newfound accuracy will allow PSG to raise their heads and finish with a qualification in poached. “There are times like that. It’s football, last season we weren’t always lucky. Sometimes it’s like that, we will do everything to turn the situation around, the midfielder is convinced. We are not worried about qualification. We do everything to win every match, we give everything. We have to keep that, continue to dominate the matches, keep this state of mind, this counter-pressing in the opposing camp that we do very well. And it should if we realize our opportunities. »
The final word goes to Diego Simeone, who, like the many coaches who have crossed paths with PSG this season, remains convinced by the potential of the Parisian team. “We knew we were facing a team that went to the semi-finals of the Champions League last year. They have 6 or 7 players in their twenties on the field. They have an incredible future. » In the short term, it looks especially hot…