PSG fell in the knockout stages of the Coupe de France in Marseille, after a worrying copy on Wednesday evening.
The Coupe de France is no longer their playground. For the second time in a row (after Nice in 2022), the Parisians were ingloriously eliminated in the round of 16 of the competition. Faced with overexcited Marseillais, they were overtaken in rhythm and intensity (2-1), Wednesday February 8, at the Vélodrome. This early exit from the road represents the first failure in the Parisian season. Its timing, less than a week from the round of 16 first leg against Bayern Munich, makes it worrying.
A few harbingers already presaged poor Parisian form. The logical defeats in Lens (1-3) and Rennes (0-1), during meetings with insufficient content, had then questioned. This time, this Paris, deprived of Kylian Mbappé, was dominated in much larger proportions.
Taken by the Marseille spirit and non-existent in the middle, they quickly suffered repeated offensive waves. “We knew they would do a lot of pressing, we couldn’t skip their lines any faster.”deciphered Marquinhos at the microphone of France Télévisions after the match.
Donnarumma stops in trompe l’oeil
The case would even have been heard from the first act without the rescues of Gianluigi Donnarumma (5th, 15th, 40th, 42nd). Led after a penalty converted by Alexis Sanchez (31st), PSG equalized thanks to an authoritative header from Sergio Ramos (45th + 1). This furious goal represented a meager improvement at the end of a gloomy first act, completed with twelve shots conceded – highest total since April 2021 … against Bayern.
Offensively, Parisian production came close to nothing. Neymar certainly hit the post (39th), but this opportunity is to be credited to the genius of the Brazilian. In fact, in this team where everyone dictated their own score, Paris was not really carried by a united collective. In the game as in the state of mind, the Parisians were too scattered to overthrow the Marseillais transfigured.
The lack of reaction after the second goal, scored by Ruslan Malinovskyi (57th), thus reflects this feeling of collective misery. We had to wait … for stoppage time to see Paris get a semblance of thrill, on a goal from Ramos refused for offside. “When they led, we struggled to develop our gamerecognized coach Christophe Galtier at the microphone of beIN Sports. We had too few shots on goal or had too many situations.”
Without Mbappé, Paris is far from the mark
Terribly stereotypical in their game despite 59% possession in the second act, PSG undeniably suffered from the absence of their master to play Kylian Mbappé. His usual associates Lionel Messi and Neymar have only shown themselves intermittently, without really assuming the status of leader that falls to them. The situation will however be similar against Bayern, since the French striker should not play the first leg.
Faced with a situation that he seems to be suffering from, Christophe Galtier does not have infinite solutions. The evening entrants are a 16-year-old teenager (Warren Zaire-Emery) and inconstant recruits (Carlos Soler, Hugo Ekitike) who do not, for the time being, display a level worthy of the top European level. Six days from an appointment which will condition its season, the club of the capital is still far from the mark.