An evening without – or almost – for Paris Saint-Germain. Back on the Ligue 1 pitches after the international break, the capital club, second at kick-off, missed a great opportunity to take the lead in the standings. Defeated (2-3) by OGC Nice, Luis Enrique’s men suffered their first defeat of the season. Yes but there you go, could it be otherwise given the performance achieved by the Parisians against the Aiglons? Absent in the duel from the first minutes of this meeting, PSG was also guilty of an unusual technical waste (131 lost balls in total!). Like the disappointing performance of Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning French champions have, in fact, multiplied defensive errors, without being more inspired on the offensive level, apart from the contribution of Kylian Mbappé, author of a new double.
PSG caught up by its old demons!
Before meeting Borussia Dortmund for the first day of the Champions League group stage, the Rouge et Bleu generally stammered in their football. Caught by the intensity of Nice and unable to emerge from a certain torpor, the club from the capital finally multiplied the bad choices around the opposing surface, also displaying a collective fragility never before seen this year. From the trio Vitinha, Soler, Warren Zaire-Emery, suffering against the Riviera midfielder to a Parisian rearguard often shattered by the incessant activity of Sofiane Diop, Gaëtan Laborde and especially Terem Moffi, double scorer, decisive passer and logically elected man of the match, through a transparent Gonçalo Ramos and a cataclysmic Ousmane Dembélé, PSG ultimately did not have the weapons to respond to Nice’s proposal.
Caught up by his old demons, dominated in the impact on too many occasions, often pierced in the midfield and betrayed by a defense generally far too lax – except Danilo often in the role of firefighter on duty although overwhelmed on the second goal du Gym – PSG has thus let slip a collective structure that has been praised since the start of the season. To the greatest regret of Luis Enrique? Not necessarily. Asked by Prime Video at the final whistle, the Spanish technician was, in fact, optimistic. “I’ve had better days than today. We knew Nice, they are tough, strong, we needed to press higher, they deserve the victory. We have to win these matches, even if it’s hard after the international breaks, we have little time to train together. We must progress. Nice hadn’t lost, Francesco Farioli, I really like the way he played, they were strong and took the lead with a real scoring opportunity. They should be congratulated, but we must progress. I’m happy with the team’s performance, we have to improve, but I’m not worried..
Luis Enrique doesn’t worry!
“We knew it was going to be complicated, we were coming back from selection, but that’s not an excuse. We played against a good team, but it’s up to us to improve a few things, we can’t concede three goals at home. This must serve as a lesson for us for the Champions League. We will try to have more automation, it will take more time but the serious things begin on Tuesday. Personally, I’m very good and I’m getting better since my knee injury after 8 months off. The sensations are better the more the matches progress., outbid Lucas Hernandez for his part. Relaunched at a press conference on this first setback of the season, the former coach of La Roja – who did not hesitate to make his self-criticism at the microphone of PSG TV – tried, despite everything, to explain this disappointment against the Nice .
“What went wrong tonight? We knew it would be complicated before the match, they were fresher than us. What was less good was the fluidity. Congratulations to Nice for their football. The other explanation is the Nice defense. We had poor positioning in the first half and it’s my duty to correct that.”. Before promising a better face against Borussia Dortmund. “If we talk about the three goals, two were deflected by our defenders. But that’s no excuse. Nice deserves its victory. I’m not worried, I saw the supporters supporting us at 1-3. We will play better on Tuesday, I am optimistic”. Jostled like never before this season, Paris Saint-Germain will in any case have to find – as quickly as possible – the keys to get back on track. The shock against Borussia Dortmund will, in this respect, be a good opportunity to assess the real degree of serenity displayed by the Parisians on Friday evening, for what will remain as the first real hiccup of the Luis Enrique era at the head of PSG .
