Has PSG already folded the French championship?

The success of a future champion? Upset at the start of the match, this Sunday evening at the end of the 18th day of Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain, despite everything, found the means to keep their clean sheet. Opposed to RC Lens, their runner-up from last season, the capital club did not go far from disaster in the first seconds of this shock. Taken by the artesian intensity and guilty of a certain defensive laxity, Luis Enrique’s men logically made mistakes. Late on Wahi, his only mistake of the evening, Danilo finally thanked Donnarumma, decisive on Frankowski’s penalty (7th). A missed golden opportunity, which the Sang et Or were going to regret…

8 points ahead, a very advantageous goal difference…

Elected man of the match after a more than successful performance, Bradley Barcola, launched in depth by Kylian Mbappé, punished the RCL by deceiving Samba with a beautiful shot from the right (0-1, 30th). Executioner of Lensois, number 21 did it again just before the break, playing alone against the northern rearguard. A slalom finally stopped irregularly by Jonathan Gradit, in the position of last defender and sanctioned, after intervention by the VAR, with a red card. Returning from the locker room, PSG – despite a few scares – preserved the essentials and even completed this precious victory with a cross strike from Mbappé (0-2, 89th). If this new Parisian success in Lens lands cannot be elevated to the rank of masterclass – the Rouge et Bleu having benefited from numerical superiority, while showing some collective shortcomings – these three new points, however, prove essential in the race On title.

“I am satisfied with their overall match. My team remained competitive throughout the meeting in terms of high level and intensity. In the first half, we were very good, especially as Lens pressed very effectively. And it’s difficult to do it at home. You want madness, I’ll leave it to you. I want control. We need to score more, it’s true, but we scored two goals and we had other chances. It has been 10 years since Paris last won in Lens. The team has strengthened itself and prepared itself as well as possible for its next matches.Luis Enrique rejoiced with this in mind at a press conference. “It’s a very good performance, we knew it was important with the results we saw before the match, we wanted to have this lead over the other teams so it’s very good”admitted Bradley Barcola in the mixed zone.

A complicated schedule for the competition!

A more than legitimate satisfaction with regard to the accounting operation carried out by the Rouge et Bleu. With this success, the 13th in 18 days, PSG has more than ever taken off at the top of the ranking. Solid leader of Ligue 1 with 43 points, eight points more than OGC Nice, the capital club, which also relegated Stade Brestois (3rd) to nine points, took full advantage of Nice’s misstep against Stade Rennais (0-2) and the Monegasque defeat (1-3) against Stade de Reims. More than this significant advantage, PSG can also boast of a goal difference (+30) well above its direct competitors (+8 for Gym, +12 for Brest, +9 for ASM). What already confirms the last hopes of the pursuers of the reigning French champions? Difficult, at the moment, to say.

However, if the return phase is only just beginning, the residents of the Parc des Princes now have their destiny largely in their hands. After a trip to Orléans for the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, the Rouge et Bleu will have the opportunity to further strengthen this national supremacy. Firstly during the reception of Brest on January 28 before traveling to Strasbourg (February 2) then welcoming LOSC, fifth (February 11). In the process, Manuel Ugarte’s teammates will play part of their European future against Real Sociedad (February 14) before flying to Nantes (February 18). The following ? Two shocks against Rennes (February 25) then against Monaco (March 3). Therefore, if these coming weeks prove to be as fruitful as the last few experienced, PSG could gain a definitive advantage at the top of the French football elite.

A scenario that is largely possible, especially since OGC Nice is preparing, for its part, to cross swords with Brest (February 4), Monaco (February 11) and OL (February 18). A schedule as delicate as that proposed to the Asemists… Opposed to Rodez in the Coupe de France, the Principality club will then travel to the Orange Vélodrome to challenge OM (January 27) before hosting Le Havre (February 4) and to travel to Nice (February 11). Also note an upcoming shock against RC Lens. So many meetings which could therefore benefit the Rouge et Bleu in their quest for a new trophy. While waiting to possibly put their hands, a little more, on a twelfth French champion title, the Parisian players, left to rest Monday and Tuesday, can in any case savor and prepare as best as possible for their trip to Orléans on Saturday next (8:45 p.m.).