Missed opportunity. If Paris Saint-Germain had the opportunity to formalize a twelfth French championship title in its history, the Rouge et Bleu finally shared the points, Saturday evening, with Le Havre (3-3) during the 31st day of Ligue 1. With a revised eleven – Kylian Mbappé and Gonçalo Ramos started on the bench while Gianluigi Donnrumma, Lucas Hernandez, Nuno Mendes and Fabian Ruiz were preserved – Luis Enrique’s men nevertheless found the mental resources necessary to preserve the essential and continue their streak of invincibility. Against the oldest club, chilling with realism after weeks of doubt in the face of opposing goals, the current leader of the championship often broke his teeth against a concentrated and rigorous Le Havre defensive block.
Luis Enrique’s PSG hates defeat!
Organized in 5-4-1, the Normans then took advantage of their rare opportunities to break through the Ile-de-France wall. Shifted to the left by Emmanuel Sabbi, Christopher Opéri crossed his shot perfectly to deceive Keylor Navas, the evening’s starter, and cool the atmosphere a little more at the Porte de Saint-Cloud (0-1, 19th). If the Parisians, carried by a wild public despite the scenario, reacted immediately thanks to the inevitable Bradley Barcola, found by Warren Zaire-Emery (1-1, 29th), the HAC would once again take advantage of the Parisian relaxation to regain the advantage. Just before the break and at the end of a superb collective action, Loïc Nego put back on André Ayew with a subtle backheel. Facing Danilo, the former Marseillais adjusted Navas to score his 4th goal in 16 L1 matches (1-2, 38th).
Certainly more focused on the future trip to Dortmund than the accounting situation of his team in the league, Luis Enrique then ‘took advantage’ of the unfavorable scenario of this meeting to continue his turnover. On the bench at kick-off, Mbappé took Dembélé’s place while the young Mayulu and Lee took over from Barcola and Asensio. However, the appearance of this match hardly changed. Paris pushed but Paris tirelessly came up against a vigilant Norman defense. Unable to change pace, the capital club was finally surprised once again. Too nonchalant and overall very disappointing against Ciel et Marine, Danilo was ahead of Nego in his own area and committed a largely avoidable mistake. After viewing the VAR, Abdoulaye Touré gave his team the break (1-3, 61st). Determined not to take any risks, Luis Enrique recalled Marquinhos and Randal Kolo Muani to give playing time to Milan Skriniar and Gonçalo Ramos.
The Parisian wardrobe highlights the state of mind
Excessive management which would nevertheless pay off thanks to the inevitable number 9 of PSG. Decisive passer on the reduction of Achraf Hakimi’s score in the last quarter of an hour (2-3, 78th), the former Benfica scorer finally turned into a hero at the end of added time by placing an unstoppable header to Arthur Desmas (3-3, 90+6th). A reaction inevitably underlined by the entire locker room shortly after the final whistle. “The equalizer shows the strength of character we have, we work every day for that and we will do everything to win the next matches”noted in particular Warren Zaire-Emery, officially linked to PSG until 2029. A strength of character also highlighted by Bradley Barcola at the microphone of Canal +. “We complement each other, there is a very good state of mind, we manage to play well together, we can only finish well”.
Relaunched on the scenario of this meeting in the mixed zone, the savior of the evening, Gonçalo Ramos, also appreciated this personality shown by PSG. “We showed our strength and our character this evening despite the result. This type of scenario is also a good thing before the Champions League. We missed the title this evening but we can also have it tomorrow (Sunday, editor’s note) if Monaco does not win against Lyon and if that is not the case then it will be next time., declared the Ile-de-France striker. A resilience also noted by Luis Enrique. “I believe it is very important when a coach is able to transmit to his players his strength, his desire to fight, the fact of never giving up, we will try to finish the season in the best possible way”.
Nervous, often caught in the duel (42 won by the HAC against 41 for the Rouge et Bleu) and too messy offensively (4 small shots on target out of 17 attempts), PSG – which had no longer conceded three goals at home against a promoted for fourteen years and the 1-3 defeat against Montpellier (May 15, 2010, double from Geoffrey Dernis and goal from Lilian Compan for the Héraultais, Mevlüt Erding for PSG) – will therefore, despite everything, have had the merit of avoiding the defeat. A real reason for satisfaction for a team which scored, on Ramos’ liberating goal, its 20th goal of the season in Ligue 1 in the last fifteen minutes of play. With this draw (3-3) snatched on the gong, the capital club also remains on an unbeaten run of 26 matches in the league. Another statistic proving, a little more, the strength of character of this group. A good omen before flying to Signal Iduna Park next Wednesday where the future French champion will be able, once again, to count on the unconditional support of his supporters…
