Nothing is going well at PSG.

As Paris faces Bayern Munich on Tuesday, February 14, in the knockout stages of the Champions League, the club seems stuck in a negative spiral almost as recurrent as the lovers' party: injuries, divorce with supporters, series of defeats … Enough to fear a huge exit from this competition, which the Qatari owners have been courting since the takeover of the club a decade ago. 

From Qatari Heaven to Hell 2023  

The latter could, without doubt, be considered as faulty.

Indeed, it was the organization of the World Cup in the middle of winter that contributed to breaking the dynamic of winning in Paris.

Under the aegis of Christophe Galtier, PSG finished the first part of the season undefeated in all competitions.  

And the World Cup, where the procession of PSG stars was largely put to use, was able to dull the team: Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi will have left their partners for almost a month and a half to live their adventure until world final.

Same length of absence for Achraf Hakimi, semi-finalist with Morocco.

And long separations tend to untie the most united partners.

Neymar and Marquinhos, for their part, again experienced a humiliating early elimination which could have left psychological traces.  

Since the return to competition on French territory, PSG has struggled to regain serenity and has already conceded four defeats: three in the championships (Lens, Rennes, Monaco) and one in the Coupe de France, the cruelest since the Parisians were defeated by their best enemy, OM.

And now, in terms of accounting, the state of emergency has been declared: the Marseillais are back strong in the retro, five points while the two teams are to face each other in the league on February 26, in a match which promises to be already decisive for the title of champion. 

Beyond the sporting results, the atmosphere in Paris has also become tense on other levels, starting with injuries: Marco Verratti and Kylian Mbappé are still uncertain for the match.  

And for the sporting extra, the month was not rosy either: the PSG could not recruit the Moroccan Hakim Ziyech because of an administrative error and Presnel Kimpembe split a media outlet for challenge the coronation of Mbappé as vice-captain of the club… Finally, the supporters are getting impatient.

Facing Monaco in the visitor parking lot of the Louis-II stadium, they unfurled an unambiguous banner ("Wake up, you make us crack") before asking the Parisian players to "wet the shirt" and smoke the Monegasque enclosure with pyrotechnic devices. 

Ghosts of the past returning to haunt Paris 

As a former mayor of the capital used to say, "shit always flies in squadron".

The whole challenge for Galtier will be to quickly find the right words and solutions to reboost a team that is mentally weak and which also seems to stick its tongue out physically.

The Parisian coach, who has appeared in recent weeks unable to re-motivate his troops, plays very big in a test erected as the absolute objective of the Qatari owners of PSG.  

The challenge is great in a club with a recent and more than complicated history in the Champions League: because when we talk about PSG, the traumas of FC Barcelona's comeback (2017), the strange defeat against Manchester United (2019 ) or the most recent elimination against Real Madrid (2022) suggest that the club would be built on a huge Indian cemetery.  

In this ocean of doubts and concerns, PSG, at their worst after their setback in Monaco, still saw a little ray of sunshine on Sunday, with the return to training of Kylian Mbappé.

Announced unavailable for three weeks after a thigh injury on February 1, the top scorer of the World Cup (8) seems to be back on his feet faster than expected and finally appears in the group. 

📄🆗 The Parisian group for #PSGFCB in @ChampionsLeague.

#UCL

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) February 13, 2023

With the express recovery of Mbappé, Paris has its best anti-crisis remedy, likely to change the game at least on the psychological level.

Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern coach, expected it and said on February 3 that he did not believe in his absence, even evoking a "poker" shot. 

A Bayern Munich also in crisis? 

Exceptionally, however, PSG is not the only contender to face a crisis, even if it now seems under control across the Rhine.

Since the draw in early November, Bayern have gone through a somewhat turbulent three months, with injuries, a false start in early 2023 and a controversy targeting Manuel Neuer. 

Complete at the end of the Champions League group stage concluded with six victories (18 goals scored and only two conceded), Bayern lost four key players in turn.

Flagship rookie of the summer in Bavaria, Sadio Mané was hit in the right fibula in early November and missed the World Cup with Senegal.

The Moroccan Noussair Mazraoui was the victim of pericarditis (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart).

The coach hopes to see both of his cards back on the pitch in the coming weeks. 

On the other hand, neither Manuel Neuer nor Lucas Hernandez will reappear this season.

The Bayern and Germany goalkeeper and captain fractured the lower part of his right leg during a ski outing in early December, while the French international, a base of the Munich defense, broke his leg. anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee in Qatar. 

The emblematic goalkeeper has however been talked about via media outlets in The Athletic and the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Neuer criticizes the Bavarian club for the recent dismissal of the goalkeeping coach (2011-2023), and close friend, Toni Tapalovic: "a blow when I was already on the ground", "as if someone had torn my heart out ".

A scratch in the image of the Munich institution.  

In terms of results too, the World Cup hurt Bayern Munich.

A second part of the season launched by three consecutive draws in Leipzig (1-1), and at home against Cologne (1-1) and Frankfurt (1-1).

The competition took the opportunity to get closer in the standings, in particular Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, who jumped at the chance with three victories. 

But, unlike Paris, the Munich residents reacted: three consecutive victories, 11 goals scored and only two conceded… Paris should ask the Munich ogre for the recipe to chase away doubts and have a good Valentine's Day. 

The summary of the

France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 app