Plying in an uncompetitive league is said to leave PSG underprepared for major continental challenges, but sometimes it does just the opposite. PSG disperse with well-organized, effective teams that each week miss exceptional individuals in Ligue 1. Now, oddly enough, this habit has helped Thomas Tuchel’s side win two games in one of the most pivotal weeks in the short term. 50-year history of the club.
Despite reaching a major milestone in reaching the Champions League final, the way forward of PSG in Europe carries a number of caveats. When QSI acquired the club in 2011, the aim was not only to win the competition – an ambition that has since become a very consuming obsession – but to compete directly with Europe’s solid elite. It was assumed that the one would naturally lead to the other, but, bizarrely, that may not be the case.
Mental fragility has been a problem for PSG in major ties of the Champions League. There was a lack of leadership in their crippling collapse at Barcelona in 2017. Nerves and individual mistakes (as well as a very unfortunate penalty decision) have fueled the devastating defeat to Manchester United last year. However, wins over Atalanta and RB Leipzig show that Tuchel has made some progress in this regard.
PSG struck two effective, tactically sharp, extended sides without showing signs of the usual psychological weaknesses. Uncharacteristic Parisian grit and gumption led to two late goals after a fluctuating display against Atalanta in the quarter-finals last week. In the semi-finals it was not PSG but the relatively unexperienced team from Leipzig who were forced to make individual mistakes. Previously, such scenarios under pressure would have given PSG a chance to wither, but they were unwavering in their beliefs and ruthless in capitalizing on those mistakes. As Ángel Di María put it: “We ate them for one minute.”
At the relegation of Leipzig, PSG produced their most complete display in the Champions League since their 4-0 drubbing of Barcelona in the first leg of their last-16 tie in 2017. Di María was the man of the match last time that he was in a Champions League Final, for Real Madrid in 2014, and he was the outstanding participant in the semi-final against Leipzig. He has been a quiet crucial creative influence under Tuchel, who should be credited for revitalizing the player’s career following his disappointing stint at Manchester United.
Kylian Mbappé and Neymar were reunited from the beginning to devastating effect. Quick friends from the field and often telepathically on it, their link-up game in tandem with Di María ensured that PSG’s attacks carried a fluidity that was painfully absent when Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia led the line against Atalanta.
Neymar’s newfound satisfaction, both in Paris and with his role in the team, was very clear – as it had been against Atalanta. Again, PSG appeared more cohesive and relaxed as a group. The draw is ongoing in their favor, but that should not detract from the fact that they have broken down major barriers in the last week. Skill, mistakes and weakness have been replaced by ruthlessness, fluidity and harmony.
Whatever the outcome, Tuchel deserves significant praise. He has given the squad a unity that neither Unai Emery nor Laurent Blanc could find and has shaped them into a streetwise and versatile outfit, moving away from the rough possession of previous eras and helping the players overcome the weaknesses that ‘. t previous campaigns pleaded.
Amidst all the praise, there should be questions as well. Do PSG really have the potential to do better than the established powerhouses of the continent – the clubs they see as their peers – in season-defining knockout ties? Their sources and squad (at least on paper) have long been the match of their more fierce rivals, yet PSG were donated by Real Madrid in 2018 by two Madrid players and placed in a very touching display at Manchester City in the 2015 quarter-finals.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Games against Atalanta (who were without the talented Josip Ilicic) and Leipzig (who were without their top scorer this season, Timo Werner, who joined Chelsea) were perhaps the most pleasant obstacles for a European final. Cup that PSG could have hoped for. Both sides have obvious qualities, but they were hardly favorites to win the competition. Leipzig had never reached the knockout stages before and Atalanta had not played in the Champions League at all for this season. Whether PSG would have reached the final if they had been crushed by the knockout ties of Lyon – Juventus, Manchester City and Bayern Munich – is another matter.
The Tuchel players can only defeat what is placed in front of them, but, seeing the gap in resources between the French champions and both Leipzig and Atalanta, it should be noted that anything other than two victories would have been another disaster, especially given the presented opportunity to them by drawing. Frustratingly, with potential opponents of Lyon in the final, PSG can win the Champions League on Sunday without giving a true measure of their sporting progression. Both of her victories over the past week have fallen into her comfort zone. A final with Lyon would be more of the same. Only by beating Bayern in the final can PSG prove that they have really arrived as European power.
For Ligue 1 observers, a meeting between PSG and Lyon would be a dream final – something that was close to incomprehensible a month ago. Yet, from a Parisian point of view, that match-up could mean that her greatest achievement ever comes with an asterisk. If defeating Lyon would be frustrating, then losing to them would be even worse. The feeling of finally reaching a Champions League final and then being beaten by another French club – over whose omnipotence has been proven beyond doubt – would be devastating. It would be an almost laughable state of affairs – and one that feels quite possible, given Lyon’s recent run of unpredictable victories.
A meeting with Bayern Munich might provide answers as to where PSG really is as a team, but in light of Barcelona’s misunderstanding against Bayern, this option could also provide PSG with the ultimate reality check. At least they seem more prepared for such a challenge than ever before. The belief they showed in their turnaround of injury time against Atalanta and their ruthless display against Leipzig prove that PSG are finally progressing under Tuchel. How far they have come is not yet known. Their newly discovered harmony and coherence could still be undone. PSG may seem like true champions, but real evidence could still be off the horizon.
• This is an article by Get French Football News
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