Paris Saint Germain won their twelfth French league this Sunday, with three dates to go, sealed after Monaco’s 3-2 defeat against Lyon. Now the Parisian team dreams of a triple with the French Cup and Champions League. Ten of the twelve Olympic laps he achieved were in the last twelve seasons. It is the longest reign and deepest hegemony in the history of French football, which has had 18 different champions since Olympique Lillois in 1933.
The draw conceded against Le Havre on Saturday at the Parc des Princes (3-3) had delayed this new crown, but Lyon ended the mystery by relegating the Monegasques to 12 points behind the Parisians with only nine points left at stake. Thus, it is stated as the most local winner above Saint-Étienne, which has 10, and Olympique de Marseille, which has 9.
The Parisians were never afraid that the title would escape them throughout a season that they have dominated from beginning to end, unlike in the previous year in which they felt the breath of Lens on their necks until the end.
The start of the cycle was not, however, easy for a team without any experience with the arrival of Luis Enrique, the former Spain coach. PSG did not rise to the top of the table until November 11 in Reims, where they achieved a 3-0 victory. That afternoon, Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick and Luis Enrique asked him to do more, in the first episode of a tense relationship. where the announcement of the superstar’s departure in the next transfer market led the coach to dose his playing time.
Despite this context of extensive internal consequences on a sporting and economic level, no rival managed to keep up with PSG’s campaign, determined to win the title, and as soon as possible. The team, whose attacking play and intensity were taking the stamp of the former Barcelona coach, He dominated his duels against greats of French football such as Lyon, Marseille, Lens, and Monacoconceding only one defeat, against Nice in the Parc des Princes on a now distant September 15.
For several months now, PSG has had a ten-point lead over Monaco, Brest or Nice, annihilating all suspense over the identity of the French league champion. This Sunday was the most logical outcome, but also for the astronomical budget of the Parisian club, which spent 90 million euros for acquiring Randal Kolo Muani and who can meet Kylian Mbappé’s salary. But he was also helped by the irregularity of teams like Marseille or Lyon, who fell out of the title race very early on.
Luis Enrique He had expressed days ago the lack of “urgency” to certify the title. “The important thing is not when it happens. The most important thing is how we play,” he had commented. The technician is also aware of its advantages: “We have the best squad, the best budget, so it is almost mandatory to win the championship, but we achieved it by being superior.”
Having won that title early allows PSG to focus on the French Cup and the Champions League. Not winning the first in the final on May 25 against Lyon, whom they recently crushed 4-1, would be a disappointment after having fallen in the round of 16 the last two seasons. But the priority objective of the club and its Qatari property QSI since its arrival in 2011, appears more complicated, with heavyweights like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. But first, PSG awaits a semifinal against the German Borussia Dortmund, on May 1 and 7.
The prospect of playing the second leg at the Parc des Princes and the euphoria born after eliminating Barcelona in April (3-2 defeat at the Parc des Princes, 4-1 victory in Spain) could give extra confidence to the Parisians. Luis Enrique does not hide his ambition for the triple crown: “It is a motivation to do something that has never been done in France to mark the history of our club, the city and the country.” But he warns: “The road is still long and tortuous.”
AFP