Paris (AFP)

Paris SG plays Sunday (9:00 p.m.) against Reims its last home game of the season, in "its" Parc des Princes where it has lost its splendor, and too many points to hope to keep its crown.

Before the 37th day of Ligue 1, PSG are three points behind leader Lille, a gap that lets him imagine the worst.

"Lille would make a great champion if they are crowned," admitted Paris striker Kylian Mbappé on social networks.

Champion for the past three years, the capital club has almost given up on a fourth consecutive coronation, after the draw conceded in Rennes (1-1) on Sunday.

To hope for a miracle, the Parisians would have to take three more points than the Northerners in the last two meetings.

A scenario not absurd for them: "we must go 100% in what we have left to play," said Captain Marquinhos.

- Park of disillusionment -

With the Coupe de France final against Monaco on Wednesday, Paris can afford a memorable home stretch, or lose everything, since it was taken out in the Champions League semi-finals by Manchester City.

But before the ASM, before Brest next weekend, there is Reims, in a stadium which is hardly successful this season: the Parc des Princes.

Since the first match, lost (1-0), against OM on September 13, 244 days have passed without the team finding its bearings in the closed chamber.

Worse, with eight defeats in all competitions at home, Neymar and Mbappé's PSG will complete their worst exercise in their stadium since 2006-07, then finished in ... 15th place.

It's almost as many setbacks as in the first eight seasons of the Qatari era (9) that started in 2011.

"In football, we must learn to turn the pages easily and it is true that we had a few defeats at the Parc des Princes but to be able to change the situation, we must always remain positive", assured the coach Mauricio Pochettino mi -April.

- "Not very strong" -

This was before losing the semi-final first leg of the Champions League against Manchester City (2-1), which led, the following week in England, to the elimination of the club (2-0 defeat on the return).

The list of his big games lost at the Porte de Saint-Cloud is scary, given the pedigree of the opponents: Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Monaco, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

But there is also the relegated Nantes, winner in March (2-1) of his first match in the capital since 2002.

"We have to be sincere with ourselves, this is not our best season. We were not very strong," admitted Marquinhos.

"We miss the fans a lot. When I was little, every time I entered a stadium, I was captivated by the atmosphere. Everyone was singing. For me, that's football," added Ander Herrera at PSGTV, insisting on the sad closed-door atmosphere, enhanced at the Park by a soundtrack of songs of ultras.

"If there is one thing that catches our attention, it is the irregularity shown by our team. It only resolves with time and work", analyzed Pochettino after the qualification in Montpellier (2-2, 6-5 at the tabs) Wednesday in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France.

"It's difficult for us to understand as well. These are things that often happen with the sequence of our choices on the field," he continued.

Against Reims, for what may be the last game behind closed doors in view of the latest government announcements, PSG takes the opportunity to close this inglorious chapter, hoping that the grass will become greener again this summer.

© 2021 AFP