Paris (AFP)

Paris has found the right formula: it is to have several. Chaining against Marseille (4-0) a sixth win in a row, the PSG seems to no longer suffer from any dependence on a single player and rely on a whole group.

"We do not have a typical team". Thomas Tuchel is adamant: in a busy schedule like PSG, align the same eleven players in each match, "it is not possible, we need all players." All players, including the new "DIM" in attack, Angel Di Maria, Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappé, sparkling this week against Bruges (5-0) and OM in the absence of Neymar.

A classic speech in a club eager to finally forge a European destiny. But a speech followed by facts on the ground, where are linked victories and goals, in Ligue 1 as in the Champions League, no matter who is aligned.

Because against Marseille, Paris has signed its sixth win in a row in all competitions, its best series this season, with each time a starting eleven different.

After 15 games, Paris is first in L1 (eight points ahead of Nantes) and first in their group of C1, relegating Real Madrid to five lengths. A record of 13 wins and two losses (Rennes and Reims) in which Tuchel had to experiment and deal with repeated absences.

Between Neymar, initially unused during the series of aborted return to Barcelona and injured, Edinson Cavani, long injured on one hip, and Kylian Mbappé, touched with a thigh, it is all the "MCN" which has been overshadowed in recent weeks.

. The DIM, it pays

In September, the resounding return of Neymar, who alone gave nine points against Strasbourg, Lyon and Bordeaux (1-0 each time), had nonetheless revived the genius of Brazilian crack.

But without him, the PSG has shown that it can print a hellish pace. Whether in C1, as against Real Madrid (3-0), or in L1 since the relapse of the Brazilian against Nigeria, 13 October.

The credit is due to Di Maria, who is consistent in excellence, Icardi, in the role of the scorer in cold blood, and Mbappé, who has scored five goals in 108 minutes against Brugge (5- 0) and Marseille for his return.

In two games, the "DIM" was born. But Tuchel reminds him, "there are still some players missing". Because if "Edi" played twenty minutes against Marseille, if Colin Dagba made his return on the field and Julian Draxler on the score sheet, it still lacks "Ney", Idrissa Gueye, Thomas Meunier and Thilo Kehrer.

A sickly infirmary that delays a headache in anticipation for Thomas Tuchel, who could evolve his DIM in any other literate combination, if he one day found his entire group.

. Silva-Kimpembe, solid pair

"We have a solid team this season, even when we make changes we can keep our intensity," raises Marquinhos. "Normally, in hard times we took a goal, two goals.Today, we manage to defend well, not conceding a goal."

A defensive solidity that is confirmed in statistics: with five small goals conceded in L1, Paris has virtually the best defense of the main European championships, only beaten by ... Reims (4 goals).

And for once, this solidity is a typical formula: the pair Thiago Silva - Presnel Kimpembe in front of the keeper Keylor Navas and behind the sentinel Marquinhos. When these four are on the meadow, Paris does not cash: it was the case against Real Madrid, Galatasaray (1-0), Bruges and Marseille.

Fluidity in attack and continuity in defense: combination for the triumphant moment. But as Presnel Kimpembe reminds us, "the season is still long", and the important thing is not to have today the magic formula, but to know if it will still hold in the spring, when for them the season really begins .

© 2019 AFP