It will therefore have been enough for Messi to limp for Paris to cough. May the Argentinian, handicapped by discomfort in a calf, for the first time in the season, fail his partners so that they lose both the north and their nerves, this Saturday evening in Reims (0-0) .
Unrecognizable in the game as in these attitudes that they had long given the impression of caring for since the beginning of the Galtier era, the PSG players experienced a curious throwback to Champagne. As in its bad days, when lack of inspiration found refuge in nervousness and protest, Paris gave in to frustration too much to hope to return to the capital with anything other than its first 0-0 of the season.
Looks like a brat
If they have, for the first time since their defeat (3-0) in Monaco on March 20, remained silent in Ligue 1, it is partly in the lack of control of their emotions that we must look for the cause. Far from the attractive “Roja” profile that the presence of a quintet of Spanish internationals (Ramos, Bernat, Ruiz, Soler, Sarabia) could have offered him at the kick-off, Paris on the contrary displayed the air of a brat on the Delaune lawn.
In order not to suffer “this insane calendar” which he denounced the day before at a press conference to explain the mental and physical wear and tear of his flock, Christophe Galtier had nevertheless taken care to inject blood and new ideas into this 14th meeting. of the season.
By leaving Messi at home, Mendes in the infirmary, Neymar, Vitinha and Hakimi on the bench, the Parisian coach was probably thinking of giving a little pep to his 4-3-3. The tenures of Nordi Mukiele, Juan Bernat and Fabian Ruiz in midfield, and especially those of Carlos Soler and Pablo Sarabia alongside Mbappé, have, on the contrary, underlined a little more the importance of executives and the difficulty of replacing them. .
Scrambles as a show
With the exception of a strike from Ruiz (13th) and the face-to-face loss by Mbappé against Diouf (33rd), Paris had little or nothing to oppose to the defense of the first relegation player, weighed down by the absence of his coach for personal reasons and seven games without a win at home.
Annoyed by his lack of inspiration, Paris could not hold his nerves when Ramos told his incomprehension to the referee and received a red card for protest. At 10 and without a clue, PSG will not get their heads out of the water despite Vitinha, Neymar (author of a dangerous action in the 67th minute) and Hakimi coming into play. Frustrated, they will on the contrary give a little more tension to this end of the meeting where the jostling will make more the show than the chances of goal.
With this very small point gleaned, Paris is certainly guaranteed to retain the lead in Ligue 1 tomorrow evening at the end of the 10th day. But three days from the reunion with Benfica in the Champions League, eight from the clasico against OM, he has not really filled up with confidence or serenity.
MATCH SHEET
Half-time: 0-0.
Referee: Mr. Gaillouste.
Spectators: 21,000.
Warnings. Reims : Munetsi (39e), Gravillon (90e), Locko (90e+3). PSG : Verratti (42e), Hakimi (90e), Neymar (90e+2), Mbappé (90e+2).
Exclusion : Ramos (41e).
Reims : Diouf – Flips (Van Bergen 76th), Gravillon, Abdelhamid (cap.), Agbadou, Locko – Zeneli (Doumbia, 79th), Munetsi, Matusiwa, Lopy (Book, 84th) – Balogun. Entr. : Garcia.
PSG : Donnarumma – Ramos, Marquinhos (chap.), Danilo – Mukiele, Ruiz, Verratti (Vitinha, 46e), Bernat – Soler (Neymar, 57e) – Sarabia (87e), Mbappé. Entr. : Galtier.