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6 months ago
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The aftermath of the Champions League is always harder to manage when you are a Paris Saint-Germain player. Present at a press conference early Saturday afternoon, Luis Enrique had warned his troops but unfortunately for him, the trend was confirmed this Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Parc des Princes. Held in check (2-2) by the Stade de Reims on the occasion of the 25th day of Ligue 1, the Parisians certainly continued their series of 22 matches without defeat in all competitions but had to share the points with the Champagne club. Still firmly established at the top of the championship, the Rouge et Bleu nevertheless demonstrated a certain defensive fragility.
Achraf Hakimi can no longer do it…
Organized in 4-3-3 at kick-off and without several executives left on the bench (Mbappé, Dembélé, Vitinha, Donnarumma, etc.), PSG was, in fact, distinguished by numerous individual wanderings. Less sovereign in its final meters, the capital club was quickly surprised by a terrible blunder by its right side, Achraf Hakimi. Dispossessed of the leather in his own area by Diakité, the Moroccan allowed Munetsi to open the scoring for Reims (0-1, 7th). Very disappointing during this part – despite an offensive impact that was still notable (he was at the origin of the Parisian equalizer and often tried to bring danger into the Reims area) – the 25-year-old player expressed his ‘great defensive fragility.
Since his return from CAN on February 6, the Moroccan has confirmed his decline. Visibly marked by this new disillusionment in Ivory Coast where Morocco failed in the round of 16 against South Africa (Hakimi had also missed a penalty when his team was only down by one goal) , the Parisian full-back returned to the capital less effective than he was in the first part of the season. Less influential in the opposing final third, which was his strength until December, when he brought this imbalance with Ousmane Dembélé, alongside whom he formed a complementary pair, Hakimi has recently been guilty of an alarming defensive laxity. Against the Champenois, he often found himself in difficulty (2 duels won out of 7 contested, 14 lost balls, 0 shots on target in 3 attempts).
A generally unstable defense
Struggling, the Ile-de-France number 2, also warned for excessive commitment shortly before the hour mark, will also miss the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League after his yellow card received at Anoeta against Real Sociedad . Credited with a 4 by the FM editorial team, Hakimi will have finally, in part, symbolized the Parisian defensive weaknesses against Stade de Reims. And for good reason. Beyond the poor performance delivered by the native of Madrid, Keylor Navas – started for the 4th time this season in all competitions – was not impeccable either, like his questionable trip to the opening of the Reims score. In front of the Costa Rican, Danilo and Beraldo – excellent against the Basques during the round of 16 second leg on Tuesday evening – also displayed some generosity.
Not always well placed, pierced on the second Champagne goal and guilty of a few lapses in concentration, the central hinge of PSG has never really been sovereign. Aligned in the left lane, Lucas Hernandez had all the difficulty in the world to exist offensively, without breaking down near his own area. Interviewed at the microphone of Prime Video a few moments after the match, the former Bayern Munich player expressed his frustration and did not hesitate to sound the alarm regarding the current dynamic of the Rouge et Bleu in the championship. “We made some individual errors today. We’re lucky to be ahead of second in Ligue 1. The coach is rotating, that’s a good thing. We wanted to win in front of our home crowd but that’s not the case. We have to focus on Wednesday’s match, it will be a great final.”.
Lucas Hernandez warns his teammates!
And to add: “We need to wake up, we haven’t won in Ligue 1 for a few games. We all need to show a good face in front of the coach. I hope that at the end of the season we will fight for the 3 trophies”. Present at a press conference, Luis Enrique – often annoyed during this match counting for the 25th day – also regretted the defensive setbacks of his protégés. “Today I was a little annoyed yes, I want to convey to my players that you have to play every match to your fullest to be a PSG player. We have to give 100% on the pitch, we have to be that whatever the competition or the match. There are always 1,000 things to change and improve. I didn’t like the gift, that’s not what we’re here for. After all the rest is positive, the team turned the match around, I liked my team”.
Relaunched by the journalists present on site, the 53-year-old Spaniard nevertheless remained focused on the various upcoming events. “It’s never easy, historically, to continue after a Champions League match. The goal is to win the title as soon as possible, it would have been better to be 12 points ahead of second, and to do well in all competitions.. Solid leader of the French championship with 10 points ahead of Stade Brestois, PSG will now take advantage of a few days of training to erase its flaws before returning to the field, from Wednesday evening, for a quarter-final of the Coupe de France, oh so important, against OGC Nice. In tough times in recent weeks, the Aiglons, defeated (1-2) by Montpellier HSC, will obviously be keen to press where it can hurt…
