Paris (AFP)
The Paris SG, after more than a week without playing, struggled to regain his legs but his duo Kylian Mbappé - Neymar ended up warming to dominate Nantes (2-0) Wednesday at the Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 .
Titularized for the first time this season, the duo formed by the Brazilian and the French disappointed until very attractive goal of the world champion tricolor (52), marked on a launch of the game "Ney", also scorer on penalty late in the game (85th). Sufficient to ensure a sluggish victory for the leader of the Championship, which is five points ahead of Marseille, his dolphin, after the 16th day. But not to reassure him completely.
In the middle of the week, three days after a match in Monaco postponed because of bad weather, the awakening was difficult for the men of Thomas Tuchel. For a long time, they were unable to cross the last curtain of Nantes, struggling at least as much as the thermometer to cross the bar of zero degrees.
The association of Neymar and Mbappé had, however, brought good promises to a Parc des Princes more sparse than usual. Between the withdrawal of the Brazilian end of transfer window, the injury of the French then his teammate right after, the Parisian lair had indeed never been able to attend a kickoff in the presence of the two stars.
But the duo seemed a bit chilled. The Brazilian tried to make the link between the lines, but he was rarely shown just when it was necessary to make the decisive choice, forgetting for example Angel Di Maria early in the game on a very hot situation (16th), Missing two face-to-face with Alban Lafont (45th, 71st) and seeing his goal (41st) canceled after using video assistance. It was finally on a penalty kick, that he had to shoot twice before he was validated, that the former Barcelona found the flaw.
- The spectrum of Real -
The Frenchman, sharper, seemed much more useful in his calls in depth than in his combinations with the "Ney", often imprecise.
Fortunately, Di Maria, completely inhibited by the other hand, came out of the freezer his outside left foot to launch Mbappé, scorer of a clever heels, returning from the locker room. Otherwise, the fans would not have had many opportunities to warm their vocal chords.
To sum up the Parisian apathy to the duo of attack would however be a little fatter the line, so much the club of the capital had difficulties in the construction, especially in the first period - only four shots! - in the absence of injury from his Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.
Was it due to these eight days without competition, unpublished series this season hors trêves international? At Tuchel's choice to stick to his pattern at three midfielders, leaving on the bench Mauro Icardi and Edinson Cavani at kickoff?
Or perhaps the doubts born of the disappointing performance of PSG players in Madrid against Real last Tuesday (2-2), a match whose face was less flattering than the final score ...
The face, Wednesday evening, was flattering to anyone, except perhaps for the goalkeeper Keylor Navas, still blameless on a shot by Ludovic Blas (28th) and another Imran Louza (59th). But not at all for Cavani, guilty of an incredible failure at the last minute. Symbol of a match where few things will be kept.
© 2019 AFP