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PSG asked and obtained the postponement of his Ligue 1 meeting against Nantes, between his two quarter -final games in the Champions League against Aston Villa. But with regard to the return round, Tuesday evening in Birmingham, did he not do a bad calculation?
On paper, we understand the reasoning. Offer players a longer rest time, benefit from one or two additional training sessions to refine a game plan, and minimize the risk of injury. Private-At his request-From match to Ligue 1 last weekend, PSG had almost six days, after its first leg (3-1), to prepare its quarter-final return of the Champions League on the Aston Villa field on Tuesday evening, while the Villans had to scratch on the lawn of Southampton in the Premier League (3-0 victory) on Saturday. We have seen the result: not only did Paris not at all mastered the round return to Villa Park, conceding the defeat (3-2) and making a great fright, but in addition the players of the French club did not particularly seem more “fresh” or more in legs than their opponents.
The second period was thus to the advantage of the English, who also ran significantly more than the men of Luis Enrique (119.6km against 114.4km) throughout the meeting. Which brings us to a question: was Paris Saint-Germain mistaken by claiming the postponement of its Ligue 1 match against FC Nantes?
Dembélé was “bored”
Performed more than a month ago, as soon as the qualification was won against Liverpool, this request had not been to the taste of the canary coach (yet a great lover of PSG) Antoine Kombouaré. “We knew that even by refusing, the board of directors (of the league) would give a favorable decision to PSG”, he deplored on March 18 on the Mag Ligue 1 set. “We cannot fight against PSG, but I remember the time of Greater Lyon with Aulas, it was the same, as with OM …” The Kanak technician was not mistaken, since the LFP had quickly acceded to the request of the Nasser Al-Khelaïfi club.
After a day of Thursday under the sign of recovery, PSG players therefore had a Friday at the end of the week off which allowed several of them to enjoy a pool party in the Yvelines, before finding the training path on Saturday at the PSG campus, for two working days. But Monday evening, after setting foot in Birmingham with his partners, Ousmane Dembélé did not seem completely convinced by this reduced program. “We are bored anyway, it's better when there are matches,” said the Parisian striker at a meeting pressurization conference. Before adding: “But it did us good too to rest and prepare the match.” While they remained on seven consecutive victories, all competitions, did PSG players lack sensations in Birmingham? Rhythm? It is a possibility, even if their start to the match was rather successful.
It hadn't worked in 2024
What is transparent is above all that PSG did not fundamentally “need” this postponement. The title in Ligue 1 being acquired for ages, and even mathematically validated, Luis Enrique – which always highlights the strength of its collective – would have been able to quietly run in Beaujoire. He could also have chosen to ask his men's intensity. What other European Cadors do in this situation regularly.
Winner of the C1 in 2023, Manchester City had to face Leicester between his two games against Bayern in the quarterfinals, then Everton between his two games against Real in a half. Last year, Real Madrid played him against Mallorca between two quarter-finals very hung against City, and against Cadiz between his two heats against Bayern in the semi-finals, even though the title in Liga was not yet validated.
PSG had already made another choice: he had asked and obtained the postponement of his trip to Nice between his two semi-final heats against Dortmund … For the outcome that we know: 1-0 defeat on the go to Germany, 1-0 defeat on the return to the Parc des Princes (against a BVB which had however played three days earlier). In the Europa League, OM had benefited from a similar treatment (postponement of a match against Reims) for its semi-final against Atalanta. Again, it had not worked: after an encouraging draw (1-1), the Olympians collapsed on the return to Bergamo (3-0 defeat). Against an Italian club which, you will have guessed, had played well in Serie A between the two rounds. In other words: none of the latest examples proves that the experience is conclusive.
What fate for Strasbourg-Psg?
The other problem is that PSG will now have four games to play in eleven or twelve days: the reception of Le Havre this Saturday, April 19 in Ligue 1 (5 p.m.), the match postponed to Nantes Tuesday April 22 (8:45 p.m.), the reception of Nice Friday April 25 (8:45 pm), and therefore the semi-final go to the Champions League on the Arsenal field or Real Madrid on Tuesday April 29 or Wednesday April 30. Going from a lightened calendar to a particularly busy calendar, without too much consistency.
It remains to be seen what will be the fate of the Strasbourg-PSG match, which must theoretically be played on Friday 2 or Saturday May 3, between two European evenings. Will Parisian leaders stay on the same line, and request a new postponement? Or will they draw consequences from the 35 minutes of anxiety at Villa Park?
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