PARIS, 24 OCT – Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) lackluster start to the European Champions League this season continued after a 1-1 draw with PSV Eindhoven, yesterday, prompting coach Luis Enrique to admit he was ‘worried’ about his team’s prospects.
The Dutch champions took the lead through Noa Lang’s strike after half an hour at the Parc des Princes but Achraf Hakimi equalized early in the second half.
The match should have been won by PSG based on the number of chances that were presented but once again they struggled to find the back of the net, a similar problem at European level.
“It’s hard to accept a result after a game like that but we know that sometimes football is unfair. We performed better throughout the match than PSV,” said PSG manager Luis Enrique.
PSG’s frustration was compounded when they were awarded a penalty in stoppage time after a foul on Marco Asensio, but the decision was overturned on review.
The French giants made 26 attempts compared to PSV’s eight. They have now scored just two goals in their last five Champions League games, including an own goal against Girona last month.
That poor record started in the semi-finals last season when they lost 2-0 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund.
“I think it’s clear that we created more chances than the opposition and we should have won this game,” added Luis Enrique.
After a narrow 1-0 win against Girona and a 2-0 loss to Arsenal in the first two games of the tournament’s new format, PSG have collected just four points from a possible nine.
There are still five games to go, but they face Atletico Madrid at home followed by Bayern Munich away, suggesting a tougher challenge awaits.
“This is the most challenging fixture schedule, and we have to be ready to improve what we can and keep fighting. But it’s difficult and of course I’m worried,” the coach added. – AFP