Paris (AFP)

A "final" for the finalist: put under pressure by two defeats in three days, Paris SG finds Leipzig on Tuesday in the Champions League (9:00 p.m.), forced to win on pain of being almost eliminated, but exhilarated by the return of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.

After that lost to Bayern (1-0) in August, the club promised to replay a final in C1 as soon as possible.

Three months after Lisbon, it has already been used ... but not in the desired context.

At the foot of the wall after their setbacks against Manchester United (2-1) and Leipzig (2-1), the Parisians have before them three "finals", as repeated Marquinhos, to stay in this competition so important for the club.

The round of 16, reserved for the first two of the group, will become almost inaccessible in the event of a defeat against the Germans, at Old Trafford in a week, or against the Turks of Basaksehir on December 8.

An elimination at this stage is unimaginable for the outgoing finalist, one of the biggest budgets on the continent who has always avoided this trap since the arrival of its current Qatari owner in 2011.

The president of the club Nasser Al-Khelaïfi also attended part of the training on Monday, a sign that does not mislead on the crucial importance of this match.

- Fear of crash -

It would even be an industrial accident on the scale of PSG which is at a pivotal moment in its sports project, between the discussions on the extensions of Neymar and Mbappé, and the vagueness around his trainer Thomas Tuchel, at the end of his contract in next june.

Moreover, he refused to mention an early elimination on the evening of the defeat in Leipzig, on November 4: "The situation is in our hands, we will never doubt," he said.

To leave the Saxons behind in the event of a final tie, their players need to win 1-0 or two goals apart.

"We have the passion to go as far as possible, we know that it is not easy, it is not with a snap of the fingers that we arrive in the final of the Champions League, there is a whole course to do, with a lot of obstacles, "assured Marquinhos.

"I think the goals, the desire, the + focus +, are always there, no matter how the season started," continued the captain.

This situation evokes the 8th return against Dortmund last March: PSG had to make up for the 2-1 defeat in Germany at home.

He won (2-0), after a benchmark match that launched his Lisbon epic.

This memory boosts the morale of Parisians, convinced that, thanks to the returns of Mbappé and Neymar, absent in the first leg, the revenge at the Parc des Princes, behind closed doors, will be a whole different match than the one played at the Red Bull Arena.

Mbappé-Neymar, it is the duo which must propel Paris on the roof of Europe.

The two accomplices returned to club competition on Friday in Monaco, after a thigh glitches for the Frenchman and adductors for the Brazilian.

- Kimpembe suspended -

However, if "Kyky" scored a brace, PSG lost (3-2) after leading 2-0.

"Ney", entered in the 60th, could not raise a team that collapsed in the second half.

"We're affected if Ney doesn't score, if Kylian doesn't score. We need goals, we need goals from Kylian, we need him to do a great performance, and I feel like he is there, he did everything to be ready, "said Tuchel on Monday.

The coach could be tempted to line up an offensive formation, with the two accomplices alongside Angel di Maria and Moise Kean: "I want to see more courage to score than fear of taking a goal," he said. he assured, while in central defense, Marquinhos made his return, taking advantage of the suspension of Presnel Kimpembe.

Opposite, Leipzig, fourth in the Bundesliga, remains on a draw in Frankfurt on Saturday (1-1).

"We want to have a fresh team for Paris. The pressure is on them," said coach Julian Nagelsmann after the meeting.

But the RB are also playing big, because if they lose the advantage over Paris, they will have to overthrow Manchester United, where they lost 5-0 in the first leg.

Woe to the vanquished.

© 2020 AFP