PSG drop points in Monaco but Marseille fail to capitalise … again

Paris Saint-Germain were flat and lethargic in their 1-0 defeat to Monaco on Saturday afternoon. Luis Enrique called it their “worst match of the season” and “a very bad night”. His players created very little, although it might have been a very different story had the Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara been sent off for his lunge on Lucas Chevalier early in the first half. The France international said his “career could have taken a turn” and that he considered himself “lucky” to continue after the tackle that was sanctioned with a yellow, rather than a red.

Takumi Minamino gave Monaco the lead midway through the second half before they did go down to 10 men, Thilo Kehrer receiving a red card in the 80th minute, but PSG failed to create any clear openings. It felt like a simple off night, even if the lack of goals from their forwards remains a cause for concern. The result gave Marseille the chance to land a psychological blow.

A win against a depleted Toulouse side would have taken Roberto De Zerbi’s team top. Their form suggested it would be a formality; they had hammered Nice 5-1 last weekend and then come from behind to beat Newcastle 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday thanks to a second-half double from the evergreen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. But Toulouse, the weakest opponents of the three on paper, especially after Yann Gboho was ruled out through injury, proved a bridge too far.

Leonardo Balerdi said before the match that Marseille “always have to believe” that they can win the title but he cautioned against focusing on their main rival. “If we start to tell ourselves ‘we have a chance if we win or if they lose’ then we will lose ourselves,” said the club captain.

But that is the trap that they fell into. Buoyed by news of PSG’s defeat, the Marseille fans outside the Vélodrome were jubilant; it wasn’t quite radios in hand for the final day of the season, but the result down the coast heightened the anticipation. There was a scent of opportunity in the air, a dangling carrot that was not grasped as Emersonn stunned the home crowd inside the opening 15 minutes.

“We need to get used to playing three games a week – we aren’t yet ready,” said De Zerbi, whose side only got going in the second half. Igor Paixão equalised in the 66th minute and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gave them a 2-1 lead eight minutes later. A home win felt inevitable. Marseille were heading top until Mark McKenzie launched his throw-in, quarterback style, right on to the head of Santiago Hidalgo. Gerónimo Rulli ventured into the no man’s land that Nick Pope inhabited in midweek, and Hidalgo profited by looping his header over the Argentinian keeper to rescue a point.

Lens are top of Ligue 1 but do they believe they can win the title? Photograph: Stéphane Mahé/Reuters

“It really hurts,” said De Zerbi after a 2-2 draw that felt like a defeat. The result was a painful reminder of Marseille’s fallibility. It is the second time in two months that they have conceded in injury time, at home, against mid-table opponents and dropped two points; they did the same against Angers in October. There have been plenty of headline results in Marseille’s repertoire this season – their first league win over PSG in 14 years, a 5-1 win over local rivals Nice, a comeback win over Newcastle – but these results will only mean something once they also beat the likes of Toulouse and Angers.

Despite closing the gap on the European champions by a point, it feels as though it is Marseille who have taken a hit. And, while PSG and Marseille were misfiring, Lens won at Angers to go top of the table. Pierre Sage says this his team have not yet “hit their ceiling” but do they believe they can be champions? As recently as last week, Sage was talking about the 35-point mark, thought to be sufficient to secure safety, and he refuses to be drawn into talk of European qualification, never mind a title fight. He says Lens are “comfortable” with where they stand and that, with 31 points on the board, they are ahead of schedule in their bid to stay up.

Given Lens’ lack of belief and Marseille’s belief taking a hit, PSG came out of their “very bad night” (almost) unscathed.

Talking points

Nice’s decline continued with a 3-1 defeat away to Lorient. There were angry confrontations with fans – firstly at the stadium, where Sofiane Diop admitted that Nice had been “rubbish” – and then again upon the team’s return to their training ground. Around 400 fans turned up to make their feelings known. Sporting director Florian Maurice and president Fabrice Bocquet were the primary subjects of their ire, whereas Franck Haise was supported.

Yet it was the manager who offered to leave the club last week, after the 5-1 defeat to Marseille. “I offered to be the electroshock,” he revealed. His offer to leave – but not to resign – was not approved by the club; his departure would come at a financial cost given his recent contract extension. Haise will continue in his post, but he seems unable to turn the situation around. The former Lens manager has admitted that he cannot “create a group and a team that wants to do things for each other”. He added: “As soon as there is a gust of wind, it all falls down.” Nice had taken the lead against Lorient, but their mental fragility was once again on show. They conceded three goals in 24 minutes. “We are fighting to stay up,” said Haise. Quite the plight.

Youth is a double-edged sword. “I love that we’re so young and fearless,” said Liam Rosenior after Strasbourg’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the Europa Conference League in midweek. But he added: “At times, we’re very naive, but the only way you get experience is to give experience.” Their naivety cost them over the weekend in a 2-1 defeat to Brest. But Rosenior didn’t want to hide behind youth and learning curves. “We have to stop the excuses, saying we’re young and are learning; we have to win and that’s it,” said the Englishman.

Strasbourg could have killed the game in the first half, but they let Brest back in. Having scored Strasbourg’s goal, Samuel Amo-Ameyaw conceded a needless penalty before a wonderstrike from Hugo Magnetti settled the game late on. Strasbourg need to cut out these mistakes if they are to secure Champions League qualification.

This is an article by Get French Football News