The Paris Saint-Germain version 2023/2024 is not even better than last year. At least, at the accounting level. Today, Luis Enrique’s men are first in the Ligue 1 standings, with a small point ahead of their runner-up from Nice (30 points against 29). And in the Champions League, the capital club is second in group F with one point behind Borussia Dortmund and two ahead of the bottom of the group, Newcastle. The Ile-de-France residents are therefore still far from being qualified for the next round.
For comparison, the record was better when Christophe Galtier was in charge. After 13 days of the championship, Paris was also in the lead, but was already ten points ahead of Lens. And in C1, the capital club validated its ticket for the round of 16 on the fourth day of the group stage after its resounding 7-2 victory against Maccabi Haifa. However, it is naturally appropriate to wait until the end of the season to know if Luis Enrique will do better than his predecessor.
The end of the era of the untouchables
Because we must not forget that Galtier took advantage of a 2022 World Cup scheduled in winter to have motivated stars in top form during the first half of the season. The Parisian collapse in 2023 had also seriously contrasted the results of “galette”. The future will tell us if the Spanish coach will manage to do better, but depending on The Parisian, he can count on a more united team. The reason is simple: the departure of Neymar and Lionel Messi, two world stars with highly contested Parisian records. Clearly, the locker room knows today that everyone will have a chance and that the era of the untouchable MNM is over.
The substitutes know that they will no longer have to settle for the crumbs left by a trio that was difficult, if not impossible, to bring out very early in a match. The newspaper also adds that some replacements had a bad experience of cohabitation with Messi and Neymar. Today, Luis Enrique does not hesitate to cut to the chase, even with his best elements. The benching of Marquinhos at the start of the season or the public criticism of the defensive work of Kylian Mbappé are proof of this. It now remains to be seen whether this Parisian collective renewal will make it possible to achieve a convincing 2023/2024 season.
