Paris Saint-Germain found themselves in familiar territory after losing to Bayern Munich in midweek as a team too good for their French domestic rivals, who are struggling in the Champions League. But perhaps this time there will be a difference. PSG often fail to live up to their potential in Europe, but this season they seem to be falling short of the continent’s best teams. Luis Enrique’s side showed little attacking threat in their 1-0 defeat in Munich on Tuesday, with goalkeeper Matfei Safonov at fault. Ousmane Dembele I was sent off.
PSG sit 25th out of 36 teams with just four points and three defeats in five Champions League games.
This leaves them one place and two points out of the qualification spots for February’s knockout phase play-offs, and they will certainly need to win at least two of their remaining three games to avoid elimination.
Such a vulnerable position means Luis Enrique is inevitably in the attacking half, and his tactics are questionable, with the headline in Thursday’s sports daily L’Equipe reading: “Methods that have no effect” ” was written.
Especially after the manager left, there was a tendency to play without a centre-forward. Kylian Mbappe Then we lost Gonzalo Ramos to injury.
Big-money signing Randal Kolo Muani, who was expected to step up after Mbappe’s departure, has become an outcast.
France regular Kolo Muani has started just twice for PSG all season and did not come off the bench against Bayern.
However, Paris only scored three goals in five Champions League games, one of which was an own goal.
“It’s an honor to be the manager of PSG. The pressure I put on myself is greater than any external pressure,” Luis Enrique said in Munich.
“I’m not here to kill time. My aim is to win the title and to achieve it now, not in the future.”
PSG are unbeaten in Ligue 1 and are six points clear of bottom challengers Monaco by the time they play struggling Nantes this weekend and will look to do so domestically.
At home, Bradley Barcola is the main marksman, scoring 10 goals and averaging 3 goals per game. They have only lost one of their last 41 Ligue 1 games.
France’s other Champions League teams (Monaco, Lille and Brest) are all doing well in Europe, but PSG continuing to do well at home while struggling abroad doesn’t bode well for Ligue 1.
The current vintage is probably the weakest PSG team since the first season of Qatari domination in 2011-12, with the exception of the 2016/17 season.
The latter campaign continued zlatan ibrahimovicbefore arriving at the Parc des Princes. neymar And Mbappe.
Monaco led PSG to the title that year, and this time too they appear to be the most likely threat to their supremacy.
Player to watch: Hamed Junior Traore
The 24-year-old Ivorian attacking midfielder is arguably the best signing in Ligue 1 this season.
Traore joined Auxerre on loan from Bournemouth after spending the second half of last season at Napoli. And he is the main reason why newly-promoted Auxerre remain in a high 1/7th place after a third of the season.
He has scored six goals in 10 Ligue 1 games, including his last goal against Angers last weekend.
One more game against Toulouse on Sunday would take him to seven games for Sassuolo in Italy in 2021/22, equaling his highest single-league season record.
Key statistics
7 – Brest have suffered as many defeats in Ligue 1 this season as they did in the whole of last season.
300 – PSG Captain marquinhos He could reach his 300th Ligue 1 appearance this weekend.
3 – Marseille have conceded three goals in each of their last two home games. They have not been able to play three consecutive top league games at home since 1962.
Match schedule (Greenwich Mean Time)
Friday
Lance vs. Lens (1945)
Saturday
Rennes vs. Saint-Etienne (1600), Brest vs. Strasbourg (1800), Paris Saint-Germain vs. Nantes (2000)
Sunday
Montpellier in Lille (1400), Lyon in Nice, Toulouse in Auxerre, Le Havre in Angers (all 1600), Marseille in Monaco (1945)
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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