COUPE DE FRANCE – PSG restarted their season by winning a trophy. But success against the Greens has a bitter taste. The Parisians, very shy in the game, exposed unusual flaws. And they mostly lost Thilo Kehrer and Kylian Mbappé to injuries. Here is our cheat sheet.
The game: PSG, no better than the Greens
We expected a demonstration. It was a real battle and Paris, even at 11 against 10 during the vast majority of the meeting, suffered as no one probably imagined. Why ? First, because the Greens entered the final as they should: by winning the duels, by hampering Paris in the middle of the field. Because PSG was only the shadow of the machine that crushed the championship until March.
Ligue’s cup
Mbappé on the mat, Di Maria suspended, should Tuchel preserve Neymar against Lyon?
Tuchel’s men, without intensity and probably a little short physically, were clearly not on their plate. Even in superiority, they never found space and the Greens had, more often than not, the initiative of the game. The Stéphanois will no doubt have great regrets.
The players: An efficient Neymar, an omnipresent Mill
Collectively in difficulty, Paris has absolutely not shone by its individualities. Neymar was unable to create any differences but he had the right gesture on his only real opportunity. PSG is exposed because it has not released the serenity that its room for maneuver demands on the competition. No doubt because Idrissa Gueye missed her match just like a surprisingly feverish Marquinhos. Fortunately for Paris, Thiago Silva, shining in the duels, and Kaylor Navas, very sure in his interventions, were much more inspired.
In Saint-Etienne, the wings of the defense often lacked liveliness but Jessy Moulin ensured the rear by multiplying the parries. Sharp in his interventions, Wesley Fofana proves game after game that he has everything a great. His friend in the axis, Loïc Perrin, lived a nightmare for, undoubtedly, his last match. Caught up in speed by Kylian Mbappé, he violently dried the Parisian striker and left our team at 10. He also lacked, as too often with the Greens, a center forward worthy of the name, able to materialize their highlights despite a Denis Bouanga restless but lacking in skill.
The x factor: And yet the posts were not square
5th minute of play, Saint-Etienne dominates the debates. Denis Bouanga has a goal ball at the end of his foot. His strike hits the base of the Parisian post and comes out. The Greens have missed their chance to achieve their domination. Ten minutes later, Neymar will open the scoring against the course of the game. Cruel.
The stat: 13
By winning its 13th Coupe de France, PSG relegates the competition very far and has three trophies ahead of its closest competitor, OM. Paris is more than ever alone in its galaxy.
The statement: Thiago Silva
It was a very difficult game. We didn’t play very well. It’s a feeling of sadness over Kylian, and happiness for the title. I hope he will recover as soon as possible because he is an essential player for us
The question: has Paris been full of confidence?
It is not insulting the Coupe de France to note that this final was above all a preparation for the Champions League for Paris. The finding simply stems from the real or supposed gap between PSG and its evening opponent. From this perspective, Paris has not had a good evening. First from a strict point of view of the game. At 11 against 11, ASSE was more exciting than the champion of France. And even in numerical superiority, the Parisian stars never had a hold on the match and trembled until the last seconds.
The astonishing defensive feverishness and the too high number of conceded chances did not have to reassure Thomas Tuchel with less than three weeks of the quarter-final of the Champions League against the impressive offensive squad of Atalanta Bergamo. More worrying still, the wounded. First, of course, Kylian Mbappé. Grimacing after Loïc Perrin’s violent charge, limping off the field and on crutches on the sidelines, the world champion suffered from his ankle and he has now entered a race against the clock.
The very compact format of the Final 8 will not give it a second chance if it qualifies for the last four. Angel Di Maria suspended, Paris could lose half of its Fantastic Four for the most important meeting of its season. Equally annoying is Thilo Kehrer’s injury. In the absence of Thomas Meunier, who left for Dortmund, Thomas Tuchel has only one option: the young Colin Dagba. Suffice to say that if Paris has added a trophy to its collection, this Friday will leave it with a bitter taste in the mouth.
Champions League
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French Cup