Paris (AFP)

The challenge, already complex after a series of disappointments in the Champions League, was reinforced by an unexpected closed door and Thiago Silva's package: defeated 2-1 on the first leg, PSG must overthrow Dortmund in the round of 16 return Wednesday (9:00 p.m. / 8:00 p.m. GMT) without its supporters.

Will Paris be stronger than Eruss Haaland's Borussia and the coronavirus? The only good news facing the cascading annoyances, Kylian Mbappé, tested negative at Covid-19 but sick with angina, is part of the Parisian group despite his absence from training for the past two days.

If the French club can count on the presence of the French world champion (21 years old) in an empty and soulless Parc des Princes, he will however be deprived of his captain Thiago Silva, forfeited in this crucial match.

Stake ? Access to the European Top 8, which has been denied to him since 2016, and the credibility of the Qatari project, programmed for the greatest success thanks to its staggering investments since 2011 but which has become the laughingstock of the footballing world by its propensity to scuttle in key moments.

- Tuchel plays his future -

As if the PSG, traumatized by three consecutive eliminations in the 8th finals of C1, saw the fate beating down on its European dream after the two injuries of Neymar, the "remount" of Barcelona in 2017, the lesson of Real Madrid in 2018 and the incredible "comeback" of Manchester United in 2019 ... Enough to despair the Parisian supporters, incredulous in the face of such a "curse"!

If the players will probably never see the tifo prepared for several weeks by the Collectif ultras Paris (CUP), the main group of supporters, however, invited Parisian fans to meet Wednesday in front of the Park around 7:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT), so that "the players hear from the outside."

In a video clip broadcast on its social networks, the PSG also pushes its fans so that "each apartment (becomes) a platform, each street corner a bend (...) never silent" even if in the stadium, the atmosphere promises to be "bizarre", as recognized by Parisian coach Thomas Tuchel.

Outclassed in Dortmund by the ardor of Erling Haaland and the tactical intelligence of Emre Can, two players recruited this winter at the price of a Leandro Paredes, PSG paid for its poor preparation between stereotypical play, based on the lightning of its individualities, and defensive block too brittle.

Main target of criticism? Tuchel, author of a failed tactical bet on the outward journey.

The Parisian coach, condemned to rely this time on his preferential 4-4-2, plays his future in the capital as the German sports media have not failed to point out: "For Tuchel, it's all or nothing "writes ZDF Sports. "Otherwise it will be on the coaching market at the latest this summer ..."

- Substitute Mbappé? -

If the identity of his starting lineup is 80% known, Thiago Silva's package, combined with the suspensions of Thomas Meunier and Marco Verratti, turns the equation upside down for the composition of his defense. Just as Mbappé's angina risks preventing him from lining up his favorite attack quartet.

All the best Parisian weapons will be necessary, however, because Dortmund, for its part, continued unhindered its preparation by winning Saturday in Mönchengladbach (2-1) in the Bundesliga.

The confidence is such on the German side that the boss of Borussia, Hans-Joachim Watzke, has even allowed himself a media pressure: "For (Parisians), the world will collapse if they are eliminated. I believe that we now have a psychological benefit. "

With a budget almost twice lower than the PSG (377.1 against 635.9 M EUR, according to the cabinet Deloitte), Dortmund does not have the same pressure on the shoulders.

Since its lost final in 2013, Borussia has even reached the quarterbacks only with ... Tuchel on the bench. The one who is now the coach of PSG is doomed to do at least as well in his new colors to avoid Paris yet another industrial disaster.

© 2020 AFP