YES
Around twenty departures and eleven arrivals. The major cleaning carried out by Luis Campos was offset by massive recruitment, supposed to provide what was sorely lacking over the last two seasons: team cohesion. And clearly, we feel it on the ground. If everything was not perfect with 3 draws and 1 defeat, PSG displays a more collective face, where efforts are shared and where combativeness spreads to all levels. This is indeed the greatest success of Luis Enrique’s first weeks on the sidelines.
This new start won over the public, since the supporters, including the ultras from the Parc des Princes, recognized themselves in this team. By recruiting French players, some from the Paris region, Luis Campos wanted to create a core different from that which had taken possession of the Parisian locker room in recent years, with a Spanish-speaking majority. The post-match scenes against OM, although they were accompanied by ill-inspired chants, proved the strong bond between the players and their audience. A real feat as it had been stretched after the last two years, between Messi’s detachment and Neymar’s contempt.
Luis Enrique is the other argument that favors a successful start to the season. The Spanish coach is praised even though his team did not perform well. He is given the necessary time, given the significant restructuring of the squad, and he does not need to say much in his media interventions to be considered relevant. The supporters feel his demands towards his players, and that pleases them.
NO
The worst start to the season in the QSI era, and we dare to ask the question of a successful start to the season? As if the departures of Neymar and Messi made us forget everything else… And the rest is already three draws (against the ogres Lorient, Toulouse and Clermont) and one defeat (against Nice). For three victories, against sick opponents (Lens, OL, OM). How can you be satisfied with so little? This is already the first question.
The quality of play was not there either, remember the first two matches, where the squad was certainly not yet at full strength. But the draw against Clermont also brought back bad memories: that of a team sometimes cut in two, with an ineffective attack dependent on the flashes of Kylian Mbappé, not yet 100%. The return of a two-speed team, which does not apply in L1 what it is supposed to implement in the Champions League.
And then, let’s also come back to the transfer window, generally praised. Rightly so when we note the depth of the offensive sector bench, non-existent in recent years. Wrongly when compared with the lack of viable solutions in midfield. Against Clermont, we could see that the Fabian Ruiz-Vitinha association was far from having the same impact as the Ugarte-Zaire-Emery duo. Two players who currently seem essential to the proper functioning of Luis Enrique’s game plan. Too little to get as many titles as possible at the end of the season.
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