The affront is significant. Swept (1-4) by Newcastle, Wednesday evening at St James’ Park, Paris Saint-Germain conceded their second biggest loss under QSI in the Champions League, after March 8, 2017 (1-6 at Barcelona in the 8th of final). More than a slap in the face, the capital club has especially fallen back into its failings on the European scene. Taken by the intensity of the Magpies, abandoned by his executives and overwhelmed by the opposing determination – both on the pitch and in the spans of this legendary enclosure – the current 5th in Ligue 1 could only note the damage after the match. Present at the microphone of RMC SportLucas Hernandez declared with this in mind that this match was “to forget”. Now second in Group F, PSG did not want to be alarmist despite the debacle experienced. Yes, but here it is, if a multitude of factors could explain this scathing setback (tactical system, extraordinary determination of the Toons, incandescent atmosphere in the north of England…), certain individual performances leave, despite everything, more than perplexed…
On the attacking front, Randal Kolo Muani, Kylian Mbappé, Gonçalo Ramos and even Ousmane Dembélé, to a lesser extent, thus missed out on this meeting at the top. And what about the central Parisian hinge formed by Milan Škriniar and Marquinhos… Aligned in Luis Enrique’s 4-2-4, the two men, for their part, completely foundered on English soil. Caught in the duels, guilty of numerous restart errors, approximate in their placement, asphyxiated and overwhelmed by the overwhelming desire of the Magpies, the Slovak and the Brazilian captain thus experienced real hell. As proof, the two friends from the Ile-de-France rearguard found themselves directly involved in Miguel Almiron’s opener, shortly after the quarter of an hour of play (1-0, 17th). If the former AS Roma defender saw his full-line transmission blocked by Guimaraes, the ex-Inter player left far too much space for the Paraguayan…
A central hinge at bay!
Guilty from the start of the match, PSG numbers 37 and 5 were, once again, repressed on the Geordies’ break goal. Covered by Marquinhos on Tonali’s short pass, Guimarães was able to cross towards Dan Burn, much more determined in his duel with Škriniar… (2-0, 40th). Still too far behind in scoring on the third goal by Sean Longstaff (3-0, 50th), the Parisian summer recruit also multiplied the technical inaccuracies and dangerous restarts (3 duels won out of 7 contested, 8 balls lost). Very unreassuring with the ball at his feet and still criticized for this glaring lack of liveliness, Škriniar finally ended his ordeal by observing Fabian Schär clearing Gianluigi Donnarumma’s top corner (4-1, 90+1). An observation also applicable to Marquinhos, more successful in his duels but generally irrelevant against the Toons. Respectively credited with a 3 and a 2.5 by the FM editorial team, Marquinhos and Škriniar could logically feel concerned by the errors mentioned by their teammates at the final whistle…
“It’s a Champions League match, we knew that. There were individual errors and also success for Newcastle. We didn’t put what we needed on the pitch and it showed in the result and in the game. It’s a match to forget and put aside. They put us in difficulty in midfield, we were outnumbered. Afterwards, if we look at the goals again, it’s more individual errors than Newcastle’s success with their game. They put what was needed on the pitch. It’s up to us to learn from our mistakes, to get back on the right path. We are all aware of the role we play in this team and for this club. It’s up to us to show it on the ground and not in front of the cameras or microphones.”notably launched Lucas Hernandez at the microphone of “RMC Sport”. “It’s not a failed match but we made a lot of mistakes. They came looking for us high, we knew it. We will review all the mistakes to improve and become an even better team.noted for his part Warren Zaire-Emery.
Often criticized for his lack of leadership last season, Marquinhos, in any case, did not help his case on Wednesday evening. New face of this Luis Enrique version of PSG, Milan Škriniar, for his part, confirmed the flaws feared by certain Parisian supporters upon his arrival and seen in some sequences in recent weeks. So yes, the long injury of Nuno Mendes and the presence of Lucas Hernández as left back give a little respite to the two Parisian defenders. However, be wary because if the latter are not yet called into question in the eyes of their coach, the situation could quickly change… With the upcoming return of a certain Presnel Kimpembe and the Danilo Pereira option, these cataclysmic performances should not be left without consequence…
