Rennes (AFP)

The crucial week started very badly for Paris Saint-Germain, eliminated in the Champions League and almost eliminated from the title race.

It ends Wednesday in Montpellier for the last trophy within its reach, the Coupe de France.

"This season has been made of ups and downs", summed up Mauricio Pochettino after the draw in Rennes on Sunday (1-1).

And the PSG coach could even end at the bottom if he wins nothing more than the Champions Trophy for his first five months at the head of the team.

Because at the moment his PSG takes reds and grinds black.

Beaten twice by Manchester City (2-1 / 2-0) in the C1 semi-finals, with an exclusion each time, the capital team stumbled in Rennes with another red card.

These reds have one thing in common: they betray the frustration of a team that sees its season slipping away.

That of Presnel Kimpembe to tackle Jérémy Doku at the very end of the match, Sunday at Roazhon Park, while there were still a few minutes left to try to win this vital match and not find himself 2nd at three lengths of Lille two days before the end.

The frustration of Angel Di Maria, an experienced player, however, guilty of a bad gesture on Fernandinho at a time when the elimination in Manchester was almost consumed.

- Eleven exclusions -

That of Idrissa Gana Gueye, late and excluded in the first half when the spell was not yet cast.

The exclusion of "Presko" is already the eleventh of the season for PSG, the third in four matches, as if the nerves were giving way, like those of Neymar, also excluded the evening when the title may have escaped Paris when Lille came to win at the Park (1-0).

The team did not know how to do violence to shake the fate in Rennes, but Pochettino refused to mention as a problem "the attitude" of his players at the post-match press conference.

His opponent, Bruno Genesio, was a little surprised.

"I thought they were going to have a stronger reaction after our equalizer, but I think they could not afford it," said the Breton club coach.

"It's difficult, they go on a lot of matches, come out of an elimination, a disappointment, we know that in these matches we leave mental strength," he continued.

Did Tuesday's European failure weigh down Parisian legs?

Pochettino doesn't want to believe it.

"No, a club like PSG cannot be influenced by that, we cannot think of what happened four or five days earlier," he replies.

Before adding: "And if this is the case, we must think about it".

- "Decisions will be made" -

He also has to think about next season, although there is still a small chance of winning the title this year.

"After four months at the club, we have stored a lot of information, it will help us," said Pochettino.

"It is clear that decisions will be taken at the end of the season, with the whole club, to improve the team," he added.

Neymar has just extended (Saturday) until 2025, Di Maria and Keylor Navas, still the best Parisian on Sunday, have done it, Kylian Mbappé is still missing, and then it will be necessary to strengthen the side sector, in particular.

However, the transfer window will be difficult, with losses around 200 million euros due to the pandemic.

About Mbappé, "Poche" did not want to take refuge behind his suspension in Rennes.

"You must not think that an absence has changed the match, we all know the importance of Kylian, but if you want to be champion you have to win this kind of match," insisted the Argentine.

The world champion should be back in Montpellier, but PSG will be deprived of injured Marco Verratti and Kimpembe, to try not to spoil everything in eight days.

Paris can still find the magic of its wonderful evenings to eliminate FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

In the Coupe de France, at least, he still has his destiny in his hands.

© 2021 AFP