• PSG won (4-2) on Saturday night against Racing Club de Strasbourg, in a Parc des Princes very happy to find its 45,000 supporters.

  • The evening was also marked by the presentation with great pomp of its five new stars, Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, Wijnaldum, Donnarruma and Leo Messi.

  • Only small downside: the whistles of part of the public against Kylian Mbappé, who responded in his own way by delivering an XXL perf.

At the Parc des Princes,

There are evenings that count more than others in football and that of Saturday, on the occasion of the PSG-Strasbourg match at the Parc des Princes, is clearly one of those nights that we are not close to. to forget.

From the great return of the Parisian public after a year and a half of deprivation to the flashy presentation of the new stars of PSG, Messi in the lead, through the 4 to 2 victory of the Rouge et Bleu, everything was there for the fans of the club to the capital spend a Nutella moment.

Back on this Parisian evening really unlike any other.

And suddenly the light was

Football fans and people of good taste that you are, you will easily understand that this story begins not with the presentation of Leo Messi, yet the major event of this first match of the season at the Park, but by the return of the audience at the stadium after eighteen months behind closed doors banging their heads against a plaster wall. Seeing them again fill these stands and fill with noise a Parc des Princes remained voiceless for too long, we remembered to what extent football was nothing (or so little) without these thousands of lovers. The first words, simple, sincere, of the announcer of Paris Saint-Germain were also for them. “We missed you so much, I missed you so much,” shouted Michel Montana, who had exceptionally swapped his usual suit jacket for a red and blue jersey,during the warm-up of the players. And we can say that they returned it rather well from one end of the evening to the other with, at the wand, a supercharged Ultras Paris Collective and author of a sublime tifo at the entrance of the players.

Messi and his Avengers presented with great fanfare

It was THE moment awaited by all the Parisian people: the presentation of Leo Messi. To be sure not to miss a crumb of the Pulga's first steps in its new garden, the supporters headed very early to the Parc des Princes. Already in the metro leading to the Porte de Saint-Cloud, there was an unprecedented general atmosphere, a mixture of excitement and astonishment at the idea of ​​seeing Messi in the jersey of PSG. If the other five summer recruits were all entitled to a warm welcome from the 46,000 supporters, the appearance of the best player in the world at 8:13 p.m. exactly caused an explosion that is difficult to describe. Led by the Auteuil bend, the entire Park chanted his name for long minutes before finally letting him place one at the microphone.

“It was a very special week for me.

I want to thank all the supporters for the welcome in Paris.

It's true that it was incredible, I feel very happy to be here, at this new stage in my career.

I hope we can all together enjoy and have a great year, ”he said, visibly impressed by the welcome he received.

If the presentation of Neymar in 2017 had seemed even more flashy, with an endless tour of the field and photoshoots with the supporters, that of Messi and the other four Avengers still made an impression.

Now it's up to them to keep the flame alive in the weeks and months to come.

Mbappé, the whistles and the pressure blow

In the middle of this idyllic evening - as PSG never does anything like the others -, a small downside however: the bronca of part of the Parisian public against Kylian Mbappé when his photo appeared on the giant screens of the Park . Annoyed by the procrastination of Bondy's Bip-Bip, which played on the nerves of a lot of people by refusing for the moment to extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, the supporters warned him that their patience had limits. On the other hand, we will not go so far as to push the comparison with the detestable atmosphere that reigned at the Parc two years ago around Neymar (it was already against Strasbourg), when the Brazilian was being rotten every time he 'he touched the ball.

No, during the meeting no whistles came down from the stands against the French international, proof that it was more of a pressure stroke than a consummate divorce. Still, Mbappé responded in his own way, slamming an impressive match punctuated by an almost goal (his shot was deflected by Ajorque in his own net) and a die pass for Sarabia at the end of the match, without ever showing any resentment towards the public. Asked about this at a press conference after the meeting, Mauricio Pochettino preferred to play the innocent: "I did not hear the whistles against Kylian". If for his part the player did not speak publicly after the match, we found him particularly cheerful when going to celebrate the victory at the foot of the Auteuil turn. Without hard feelings, then? 

Mbappé he looks serious happy 🤔 pic.twitter.com/qIQPu05ovk

- M | Miotto (@Maxmiotto_) August 14, 2021

Paris unfolds before being (a little) afraid

From a sporting point of view, finally, because there was still a football match to play, PSG blew hot and cold, with a first period steamroller version, concluded with a clean 3-0 and clear, and a second act much slower which even almost saw the Strasbourg return the score after the goals of Gameiro and Ajorque (53rd, 64th).

Still, the general impression left by this PSG bis, deprived of Messi, Neymar, Di Maria, Marquinhos and Verratti, all absent from the scoresheet on Saturday night, is rather good overall.

This was also the opinion of Pochettino, who said he was "very happy with the result".

“The first period was very good because we were efficient in the possession and circulation of the ball.

We scored three goals, we had a lot of chances and we didn't concede any, which is difficult in this very competitive League.

We lowered a bit of energy after conceding the first goal

,

but overall we managed a good game, ”he explained.

The Argentinian was all the more satisfied as he saw, like us, his direct competitors get their feet wet (Monaco beaten 1-0 in Lorient, Lille shriveled 4-0 by Nice).

Sunday morning his PSG is at the top of Ligue 1, so far everything is going (very) well.

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