“All the Ligue 1 teams will be in the same configuration”, assured Christophe Galtier, at a press conference, on the eve of this 5th day of Ligue 1 which will be played this Wednesday evening. For now, at least. Once the final whistle has sounded at the Stadium, whatever the result of this meeting on the field of the Ligue 2 champion, Paris will be part of a small group of French teams which will live to the rhythms of the championship and the European Cup. With Marseille (Champions League), Rennes, Nantes (Europa League) and Nice (Europa League Conference) for only comrades of fortune.
For PSG and the other Europeans, between this Wednesday and the end of September, the last international break before the World Cup in Qatar, it will be 6 games in 19 days. Barely returned from Toulouse, Paris will go to Nantes (September 3), receive Juventus as a curtain raiser for the C1 (September 6), then Brest (September 10), will go to Haifa (Israel, September 14) and finally to Lyon (September 18). 19 days, 6 matches, 540 minutes of play, 9,100 km covered, enough to dull the bodies.
“No need to worry despite the busy schedule, assured Christophe Galtier. It seems important to me at the start of the series to inject fresh blood. We are going to play every three days, so we have to be careful not to lose players and concentrate everyone. »
A group that still needs to grow
For Galtier like Luis Campos, these next few weeks will be a revelation. On the effectiveness of the summer preparation and the new organization of the group, which the Parisian coach insisted on wanting to be compact and homogeneous in level, in order to be able to run without losing quality. Against Toulouse, a team which has shown its audacity at the start of the season for its return to the elite, Paris will only come with 20 players, without Paredes (pending transfer), Kimpembe and Sarabia (injured), and with two titis Warren Zaire-Emery (16 years old) and El Chadaille Bitshiabu (17 years old). The turn-over is as expected as it is essential, with this first European poster in sight, which is fast approaching.
Fortunately for Christophe Galtier, his group should further expand by Thursday evening and the end of the summer transfer window. This Tuesday evening, he already recorded the reinforcement of Napoli midfielder Fabián Ruiz. Others are expected and should make it possible to approach this first half of the season with greater serenity. Immediately after the international break, which will affect many Parisians, PSG will play… 11 games between October 2 and November 13. For the rest, see you after the World Cup. And it will be a second season that will begin.