Winner in Angers after an unexciting match, PSG had a few cold sweats during the second act. A bad habit taken by the capital club in recent meetings.
At the final whistle, the hug of relief between Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma was worth almost as much as words. While they were leading 2-0 and seemed to have the game in hand against Angers, Friday April 21, the Parisians went down in speed and completely relaxed when they returned from the locker room. Until conceding a goal in the final minutes of play (87th), for a tense end to the match. A fault of which the club of the capital was guilty during all its last outings, and which questions the state of mind in its ranks, seven days from the end.
In the second period, Paris suffered in several areas of play against the bottom of the championship. Holding the ball without really trying to use it, Christophe Galtier’s men retreated and were left to be attacked by brave Angevins. Alexandre Dujeux’s men have twice as many shots on goal in the last 45 minutes (nine against four) as their opponents, with twice as many shots on target (two against one).
“It’s a problem for our team”
A problem identified by the Parisians when analyzing the match. “On manages to increase the score and we relax a little too much in the second half”regretted captain Marquinhos at the microphone of Prime Video just after the meeting. “The prospect of victory must not make us slow down. It’s a problem for our team.”
After a first highlight around the 70th minute of play, with a multiplication of corners, the SCO players finished by taking advantage of the Parisian wait-and-see attitude, in particular Marquinhos, Sergios Ramos and Fabian Ruiz, to reduce the gap, thanks to Sada Thioub (88th). An action that worried Christophe Galtier on the bench. “I see that the second period can go wrong, we took a goal in the 88th minute, and you don’t know how it can happen”he reacted in a press conference after the meeting.
Already 45 disappointing minutes against Lens and Nice
The capital club has been playing with fire in its second periods for a few weeks now. Against Lens last weekend, they also suffered when they returned from the locker room, despite a three-length lead. Yet in numerical superiority since the 19th minute, the Parisians had conceded a penalty on a hand in the area, and conceded a goal. Gianluigi Donnarumma then had to work to repel the attempts of the Sang et Or.
Same story against Nice a week earlier. Upon returning from the locker room, with a goal lead, PSG had experienced a quarter of an hour air gap. Dante had almost equalized while Donnarumma had chained seven decisive parades to keep his clean sheet.
“I am not at all satisfied with the second period, as I was not last Saturday against Lens […] When you’re the PSG coach, you can’t be satisfied with playing one period per game”, said Christophe Galtier at a press conference after the match. The coach does not want to see sufficiency in these wanderings, but a “mental wear”the management of several goals in advance “while possessing the ball”. An attempt at an explanation, but not an absolution, since he struck it in conclusion: “The players must show another face over the duration of the match”.