French clubs will therefore have experienced two incredible scenarios in the space of twenty-four hours in the Champions League. After the lack of communication between staff and Marseille players on Tuesday, Paris Saint-Germain was the victim, despite its success on the lawn of Juventus Turin (2-1), Wednesday, November 2, of the large victory of Benfica Lisbon over the pitch of Maccabi Haifa (6-1). In the number of goals scored away from home, the Portuguese club takes first place in Group H, ahead of PSG.
It is therefore not on goal difference, nor on confrontations with Benfica, nor on the number of goals scored by the two clubs, that Paris and the Portuguese club are decided. The nuance is important since on November 7, during the draw for the round of 16 of the competition, PSG risks falling on very heavy: Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Naples or even Chelsea.
Nothing seems to spare PSG on the continental scene. Because Benfica scored their sixth goal against Haifa, that of the first place, in the last seconds of their match, and especially because Paris had managed to get out of a huge quagmire at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. For a large part of the meeting, PSG indeed trembled against Juventus who regained their colors on Wednesday evening.
In constant loss of prestige and level on the continental scene for several seasons, the Old Lady has shaken up PSG in much greater proportions than going to the Parc des Princes (1-2). But the goal of Nuno Mendes, scored a few seconds after coming into play (69th), long seemed enough for PSG to clinch first place in the group. Instantly, the Portuguese side was served in depth by Kylian Mbappé, a handyman from Paris, once again.
40 – At the age of 23 years, 10 months and 13 days, Kylian Mbappé becomes the youngest player to reach the 40-goal mark in the history of the Champions League, overtaking Lionel Messi (24 years, 4 months and 8 days in November 2011). Supersonic. #JUVPSG pic.twitter.com/1IPzKtF7JO
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 2, 2022
While PSG was dominated at the start of the match, the latter decided to make the difference, alone. On a sublime action, the striker of the Blues eliminated Federico Gotti then Manuel Locatelli in the space of a few tenths of a second, before placing a perfect shot from the entrance to the surface (13th). In the first period, PSG only entered the Turin area twice, in particular with a service from Mbappé for Lionel Messi, unhappy at the finish (33rd).
Mbappé was not really helped this evening by an uninspired and uninvolved Pulga and in the absence of Neymar, suspended. So Juventus tried to take advantage of it. First by shooting on sight, with attempts from Locatelli (8th, 17th), Juan Cuadrado (22nd), but also by stumbling on a good Marquinhos (4th, 34th). She finally managed to force the lock of a friable Parisian defense on the goal of Leonardo Bonucci (39th).
Dominated a good part of the match (15 shots to 7 for Juventus), Paris tried to manage the advantage taken well after the goal of Nuno Mendes but got a little scare with a goal from Locatelli, finally refused for an offside position (78th). With hindsight, Paris may regret not having insisted enough and this strike from Mbappé repelled by Wojciech Szczesny (60th), which would have allowed PSG to retain their first place in Group H.
In the end, nothing happened. Leader of his group, Paris could have seen the draw for the round of 16 come more calmly, but knew that he had many things to settle by February to hope to go far in the competition. Second in the group, PSG will shake much more. With the risk of falling on a cador in the next round, which caused the elimination of the club from the eighth last season, against Real Madrid.
“We are qualified. Of course we would have liked to be first. We did the job to be first and we will quietly head for the round of 16“, put Kylian Mbappé into perspective after the meeting at the microphone of Canal+. In view of the crestfallen faces of Christophe Galtier or Gianluigi Donnarumma at the end of the meeting, he is perhaps the only one to digest this cruel scenario.