The time has finally come for Paris Saint-Germain. Tuesday, at 9 p.m. (Paris time), the leader of the French championship returns to the European games, on the occasion of the knockout stages of the Champions League. A double duel against Borussia Dortmund who, without having the build of a European tenor, still calls for caution in the Parisian ranks.
And for good reason. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, PSG already displayed its ambitions: at the very least, the last four of the C1. The three consecutive eliminations at the stage of the round of 16, far from the initial objectives, had weighed down the end of the club's season. But even more than the result, it was the manner which had marked the spirits.
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In 2017, the elimination against Real Madrid (1-2, 1-3), then double defending champion, had almost seemed logical. But since 2018, the scenario has taken precedence over the rest, leaving the shadow of a curse on the standard bearer of French football in Europe. That year, the Parisians had gone from the euphoria of a broad success against Barça de Messi, at home (4-0), to the terrible disillusionment of the Catalan "ascension" at Camp Nou (1-6) . And the following year, rebelote. After brilliantly outclassing Manchester United at Old Trafford (0-2), the Parisians had sunk on the return, in front of their audience at the Parc des Princes (1-3).
Three precedents that fuel fears, even if Thomas Tuchel displays, on the front, a great serenity. "I'm not worried," he insists since the draw in mid-December.
Haaland-Sancho, a doublet to muzzle
In fact, it is difficult to deprive PSG of its status as the favorite of this double confrontation. The Parisians, who have been flying over Ligue 1 since the end of the summer, have a workforce which should theoretically allow them to contain the offensive assaults of this Borussia. Left at rest last weekend in Amiens (4-4), Mbappé and Neymar should start the match on Tuesday evening, and could benefit from the generosity of a defense not frankly renowned for its solidity (13 goals conceded since the start of the year 2020).
But it is precisely behind this that the key to success for PSG should lie. Because if Dortmund is not a steamroller, it has elements that could undermine any rearguard in Europe. The explosion of the Norwegian nugget Erling Haaland, in particular, crystallized concerns. With five Bundesliga games on the clock, including only three as a titular player, he has made it 8 times.
Statistics worthy of a superstar that should not, however, hide the excellent season of his fellow attacker Jadon Sancho, also 19. The English international (11 caps, 2 goals) has 13 goals and 14 assists in 20 Bundesliga games and is also a major threat. Haaland-Sancho, a doublet which has in any case martyred the German defenses since the beginning of January (28 goals in 9 matches), and which PSG will have to keep under control if it wants to materialize, once and for all, its European ambitions. And the absence on injury, German side, of the taulier Marco Reus, should in any case be able to help him a little.
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