Paris (AFP)

Quick, a victory!

Paris SG receives Metz on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.) in an atmosphere weighed down by the two initial defeats in Ligue 1 and the three suspensions which have further tarnished the setback against Olympique de Marseille, peppered with controversy.

German coach Thomas Tuchel, exhilarated this summer from the beautiful course in the Champions League completed in the final against Bayern Munich, is not yet on an ejection seat.

But against the Moselle at the Parc des Princes, in an astonishing duel between teams at zero points, a new underperformance would be very unwelcome.

PSG are indeed on three defeats in all competitions in less than a month, against Bayern, then in Lens and against the Marseille rival (1-0 each time).

Three setbacks: a series more seen since 2011, when the club was just beginning its transformation under the QSI era.

We even have to go back to 1984, that is to say before the birth of current players, to find a start with two defeats in the Championship on the side of the capital.

"We have three consecutive defeats, we are not used to that, it is clear, conceded Tuesday Thomas Tuchel. If everyone wants to say that we have a crisis of results, yes, it is reality, it is not a problem to accept it ".

Admittedly, the eleven who lost in Lens and against OM is not the five-star squad that arrived in the C1 final, the fault of the coronavirus which has infected several executives.

Admittedly, the Parisian players had only one week of preparation, disrupted by the Covid-19, and started with an overloaded schedule with four matches in eleven days.

Blame it on a championship that resumed much earlier than its German, Spanish or Italian neighbors, underlines PSG.

"We arrive with a lot of + Covid-positive + players, we arrive without a friendly match, without preparation, and for me it was clear that it could be a difficult first phase of the season (...) if we have attackers on the field we will win matches, it's easy, "promised Tuchel.

The technician announced the return to training of defender and captain Marquinhos and that of striker Mauro Icardi.

Kylian Mbappé is however still unavailable.

- Three suspended -

Still, the current series weakens Tuchel.

Sporting director Leonardo has also evaded, after the fiasco against OM, a question about the future of the German: "I will not talk about it after a match like that."

Tuchel spoke of "bad luck" to explain the loss to Marseille, stressing that his team had clearly dominated the game.

But beyond the game, his players mentally cracked, engaging in a general fight at the end of the meeting which further limits his choices.

Tuchel expected returns, he finds himself with three players less: Neymar, Leandro Paredes and Layvin Kurzawa.

Excluded Sunday, they are automatically suspended against Metz and risk seeing their sanction increased by the disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP) which meets Wednesday.

The Italian defender Alessandro Florenzi, freshly recruited, will not be able to be aligned either since the match of Wednesday counts for the first day of L1, programmed before he signs in Paris.

Goalkeeper Sergio Rico, who has definitely signed up with Paris after spending last season there on loan, is however eligible because he was still in the Paris workforce at the time of the first day.

For the team, who haven't scored a goal in three matches, Icardi's return, even ill-prepared, should be good news.

On the Lorraine side, the Garnets, who like PSG suffered two 1-0 defeats, will only be deprived of their midfielder Kévin N'Doram, operated on for an Achilles tendon.

Objective: launch their season ... and prolong the Parisian slump.

© 2020 AFP