Paris Saint-Germain no longer has the right to make mistakes if it does not want to find itself with its back against the wall in the Champions League and must therefore win on Tuesday against Newcastle (8 p.m. UT) after two defeats in four matches in group stage. This statistic is already the worst in C1 under the QSI era, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. And elimination at this stage of the competition would also be a first since 2011.
Published on: 11/27/2023 – 4:02 p.m.
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The Parisians have lost as much in the Champions League this season as in the last 18 group stage matches they had played until then. Before facing the “yellow wall” of Dortmund for the last day on December 13, Luis Enrique’s players must therefore recover and above all take their revenge at the Parc des Princes against the Magpies after the debacle at the beginning of October (4-1) in the north of England.
Suffocated by the atmosphere of St James’ Park, they had sunk psychologically, physically and technically. Just like at San Siro at the beginning of November against AC Milan (2-1) when they had largely beaten the Italians (3-0) at home two weeks earlier.
With this second defeat, the Parisians are no longer the leaders of this group F, the “group of death”, where all the cards were reshuffled during the 4th day – Dortmund (7 points), PSG (6 pts), Milan (5 pts) and Newcastle (4 pts).
Qualification possible from Tuesday if…
A defeat against Newcastle would considerably complicate the task of PSG, who would no longer be in control of their destiny on the sixth and final day. Conversely, a victory against the English on Tuesday could already open the doors to the round of 16, combined with a victory or a draw for Dortmund in Milan. For this meeting, the teammates of Kylian Mbappé, captain due to the withdrawal of Marquinhos injured in the hamstrings with Brazil, arrive with confidence thanks to their success Friday in Ligue 1 against Monaco (5-2) and with their place championship leader confirmed. “ It was sometimes difficult, at certain times we suffered. But winning is the best way to prepare, and this way it’s even better “, said Luis Enrique after the match.
Without Marquinhos and Zaire-Emery
Effective in attack, notably with Ousmane Dembélé’s first goal – and what a goal – his players were also regularly caught in depth, giving rise to lightning counter-attacks. The Red and Blue, who still have to do without Marquinhos (thigh injury) and young nugget Warren Zaire-Emery (ankle) absent from training on Monday, continue to concede far too many chances. This is often inconsequential in L1 but is rarely forgiving in the Champions League.
In goal, Gianluigi Donnarumma, who made some very good saves on his line, made his first big mistake since the start of the season on a bad restart, provoking a new debate on his kicking game. Not necessarily reassuring before Newcastle and its pressing.
In the middle, Fabien Ruiz, lined up to replace “WZE” who was withdrawn, performed well against the Monegasques and his profile seems valuable alongside Manuel Ugarte and Vitinha (or Lee). Present in training on Monday, Marco Asensio could replay his first minutes on Tuesday, in a center-forward position rather in support of Mbappé and Dembélé.
For their part, the Magpies reassured themselves this weekend by inflicting a heavy defeat on Chelsea (4-1) after two defeats between the Premier League and the C1.
