Paris Saint-Germain opened the doors of its Parc des Princes on Saturday evening at FC Nantes, during the 15th day of Ligue 1. If the Rouge et Bleu pocketed an important victory (2-1) to consolidate its status as leader of the championship, the Capital club already has its eyes fixed on Borussia Dortmund that Luis Enrique’s troops will face on Wednesday evening, on the German lawn of the Signal Iduna Park stadium, during the 6th and final day of Group F of the League of Champions. And as they say, every good news is good news and PSG was full of confidence in many ways this Saturday evening. Enough to reassure the locker room which can calmly and cleanly look towards their next deadlines. As a reminder, PSG is playing for its survival against the Schwarz-Gelben. To qualify, the Parisians need a victory or a draw combined with a lack of success for Newcastle against AC Milan. If Paris loses, we will have to hope for a draw between the Rossoneri and the Magpies.
“In football, this kind of expression is very nice, talking about life or death. We have a big match to play, like a round of 16, a quarter-final and so on. We will be outside but that depends on us. If we win, we won’t need to listen to the radio or watch TV to know how the other match ended (Newcastle – AC Milan). It’s an important match.”, declared Spanish coach Luis Enrique after the match won against FC Nantes on Saturday evening. Beyond the positive result despite a fairly narrow meeting, the former Spanish coach received other very good news this weekend. Indeed, Paris Saint-Germain was able to count on the return of a few elements against the Canaries. This creates a positive atmosphere, a few days before a crucial trip to Germany, against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Several returns recorded…
In its medical update published Friday, Paris Saint-Germain formalized the returns to the group of Marquinhos and Warren Zaire-Emery. But these facts cannot become fully positive, if and only if they are accompanied by concrete actions. And against FC Nantes, the Brazilian defender and captain seemed strong, despite obvious fatigue at the end of the match. He was curiously very offensive with beautiful climbs and well-inspired openings to help the PSG midfield, like this long pass for Kylian Mbappé (60th). The Auriverde international finished this meeting with two clearances, three duels won and above all 98% of successful passes out of more than 80 attempts during the match. He committed no fouls, received no warnings and lost no balls despite breakthroughs on the right flank. When we know that PSG will have to be solid defensively with several offensive solutions, here is a reassuring, solid, concentrated and efficient Marquinhos who is preparing to fly to the Ruhr region. Two other players were more than fit for their return, starting with the young French midfielder, Warren Zaire-Emery.
Injured since November 18, during his first call-up with the Blues against Gibraltar (14-0) during which he scored his first goal for the selection, the 17-year-old Parisian Titi came into play at the time of game (60th) and therefore offered himself around thirty minutes against FC Nantes. Just to get back into shape before a (probable) start against BVB next Wednesday in the Champions League. Like his partner in defense, he was reassuring in his ball transmissions, notably with 88% of successful passes and did not seem out of rhythm. The same goes for Marco Asensio, who has officially returned to the pitch since November 24 and the match against AS Monaco. The former Real Madrid player, however, never returned against the Monegasques, nor against Le Havre. It was therefore the Canaries who had to contend with the official return of Asensio for a duration of 11 minutes. The Spaniard almost scored a goal on a very good back serve from Kolo Muani but after a left check, his right shot went over the cages of Alban Lafont (86th). Only good news for PSG who will go to Germany with an expanded group compared to recent weeks.
