Paris Saint-Germain completely missed its return to school. For their first preparation match of the summer, the reigning double European champion lost heavily 3-0 against Mallorca, residents of Liga 2. A disappointing performance from Luis Enrique’s men, dominated in intensity as well as in the game, just one week before their first official meeting of the season: the European Super Cup against Aston Villa. Despite this worrying setback, the Parisian staff preferred to calm things down when the final whistle blew.
Present before the media, Rafel Pol, Luis Enrique’s deputy, recalled the very particular context of this meeting. “We knew it was a special game, we were missing a lot of players, there were others or it was the first day they were with us. Among all the complications that the match presented, we must try to stay with the positives, correct those that we need to improve and move forward, because in seven days we have a final”he declared. A message which reflects the desire of the Parisian staff not to draw hasty conclusions despite a very insufficient copy.
A completely missed first
Rafel Pol, originally from Mallorca and celebrated during this “home” meeting, did not forget to praise the opponent’s performance. “I think they not only had a very good game, but they had a very good pre-season in general. They have built a team that looks very good for the second division. It’s long, complicated and remains to be seen, but I think the project is fascinating. I hope they do very well and can move up to Primera”concluded the Spanish technician, paying tribute to a team from Mallorca which perfectly exploited the Parisian largesse.
This defeat therefore does not call into question Parisian ambitions, but above all it reminds us that PSG is logically still far from its best version. With several executives still absent and a squad still in training, the European champions will have to quickly raise their level of play. Time is now running out since Luis Enrique’s men have only a few days left to correct the situation before challenging Aston Villa in the European Super Cup, the first major official meeting of their season. And it will generally be with the same core of players as tonight.
