It is very willingly that Paris SG, customary autumn soap operas, has given way this week to the serious crisis that has shaken Olympique de Marseille.

The Marseille club has seriously rocked after a disappointing draw at the Velodrome against Toulouse (0-0) last Sunday, but especially following a stormy meeting between leaders and associations of supporters on Monday.

If the implosion did not take place, the president Pablo Longoria announcing Friday night that he remained in his post, the case of some of the leaders is not clear, while the coach Marcelino, him, decided to throw in the towel by resigning.

It is therefore in a blur that has nothing artistic, with Jacques "Pancho" Abardonado as interim coach, that OM will present Sunday night against the Parisian ogre.

Aubameyang and his team-mates will want to build on their successful trip to Amsterdam on Thursday in the Europa League, where they showed determination to prove on the pitch that the club was not sinking, bringing back a good draw after an encouraging performance (3-3).

Marseille striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jonathan Clauss, both scorers during the meeting between OM and Ajax in Amsterdam on Thursday in the Europa © League Olaf Kraak / ANP / AFP / Archives

"We had to stay united, at this moment when it's the storm. The whole group ensured and gave everything, "said Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, author of a double, after the meeting on Canal +.

Mbappé serene

PSG, on the other hand, is far from crushing everything in its path at the beginning of the season, and ranks behind Marseille in Ligue 1 (5th with 8 points against 4th with 9 points). It even remains, in the league, on a defeat at the Parc des Princes, last Friday against Nice (2-3).

Yet the club displays a certain serenity, from its leaders - more open to the press -, to the players - some of whom shine like the midfielder Vitinha -, through the coach Luis Enrique.

The tug-of-war this summer between Mbappe and the management around a possible free departure at the end of the season seems to have been digested by both parties. The striker of the France team has already scored a whopping eight goals in five games.

Paris' Kylian Mbappe and his coach Luis Enrique during Tuesday's Champions League match against Dortmund at the Parc des Princes © FRANCK FIFE / AFP/Archives

The coach knows that he does not have much room for error. "I will be sent back" if the results are delayed, Luis Enrique said with bonhomie Monday.

But by opening a new era of a club that has failed in recent years in the Champions League, by working to shape a more attractive and consistent game, the coach may have more time than a Christophe Galtier, flanked last season by three superstars, before the departures of Messi and Neymar.

PSG also started its European campaign ideally on Tuesday night by dominating Dortmund (2-0) and taking the lead in its difficult group.

Obviously, a classico remains the first match ticked off by the fans on the calendar of a season, and Paris can not afford to do anything other than win on Sunday night.

"When you arrive at a club you quickly realise the matches that particularly motivate the fans, the players, the club. The classic is a match that is part of it, it is one of the most important of the season, "said Luis Enrique Saturday in a press conference.

The Marseillais "still have not lost in Ligue 1. They played a good game against Ajax, it's a very good team," said the Paris coach, believing that the extra-sporting situation "did not cost" the Marseille players.

PSG need the three points while adversity seems to be the order of the day this year at the national level: Nice took the lead in the standings on Friday by winning against a Monaco yet convincing at the beginning of the season.

© 2023 AFP