Why did the giants collapse at the beginning of the year?
Suffering a three-game losing streak, Paris continues the curse of the spring trough
Whenever spring comes, there is a giant team in European football that starts to go down habitually. Yes, this team is Paris Saint-Germain.
In the first round of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in the early hours of the 15th Beijing time, Paris Saint-Germain lost 0:1 to Bayern Munich at home and lost the initiative to qualify.
What's more serious is that this is their recent three-game losing streak in various competitions. If they can't reverse the decline in time, then this proud super team will follow in the footsteps of the previous seasons. In spring, the bamboo basket fetches water in vain.
Whether the highly anticipated combination of Mbappe, Messi and Neymar can continue to work together has become a big question mark.
Reporter Yin Chengjun
fall to the bottom every spring
Why did Paris Saint-Germain lose the chain as soon as it reached the Champions League knockout round?
This is probably the most unsolvable problem in world football.
Let’s not talk about the season that is too far away. Since 2017, this team has fallen in the Champions League knockout round as always, and just before being eliminated, they are still brave, and there is no sign of collapse at all.
Since Paris Saint-Germain was bought by Qatari investors, the team has only one goal in the European arena - to win the Champions League.
For this reason, the club spares no effort to sign superstars to help the team complete this task.
From Ibrahimovic to Beckham, from Cavani to Neymar, from Mbappe to Messi, batch after batch of football superstars have joined the team, but they have been unable to change the collapse of Paris in the spring Dilemma.
In 2017, Paris Saint-Germain had a smooth journey and was heading towards the top of Europe. However, in the Champions League quarter-finals, they had the advantage of four golden goals in the first round, but they were abruptly overturned by Barcelona in the second round. Quarterfinals.
From that moment on, the doom of the Champions League collapse in the spring has almost always been with them.
The following year, Paris made a comeback after signing Barcelona superstar Neymar for 222 million euros.
This time they still entered the Champions League knockout round, but they lost to Real Madrid 2:5 in two rounds in the quarter-finals in early spring, and were out early. Neymar was also injured in the game and bid farewell to the rest of the season.
In 2019, another early spring and the Champions League quarter-finals, Paris Saint-Germain met Manchester United.
They were led 2:0 in the first round by the "Red Devils" at 1:3 in the second round.
This year, they were also eliminated in the French Cup and the League Cup, which was the worst season in recent years.
Fortunately, in 2020, they finally broke the bad luck that has plagued them for many years, and they are also galloping in the spring breeze.
After losing in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund was eliminated, and then they defeated Atlanta and Leipzig, which were severely underdeveloped, and reached the Champions League final for the first time.
It's a pity that they fell short in the end, losing to Bayern and finishing second.
In 2021, Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but they couldn't get past Manchester City and fell in the quarter-finals.
Last year was even more unbelievable. Under the excellent situation, they were overthrown by the tenacious Real Madrid and missed the quarterfinals.
Year after year, whenever spring comes, Paris, which is invincible in autumn and winter, is always associated with terms such as collapse and comeback. Looking at football around the world, such a habit is really rare.
Three consecutive defeats and then the alarm bell
After entering this season, Paris Saint-Germain, unwilling to sink, continued to adjust the lineup, hoping to make a breakthrough.
For this reason, the club compromised with Mbappe at all costs, only asking him to stay.
At the same time, the sports director and head coach were replaced, but there was not much movement in the player configuration. After all, such a luxurious lineup already looks perfect.
Sure enough, the weather in Paris has taken on a new look.
At the beginning of the league, they successively staged 5:0, 5:2, 7:1 goal battles. In the first six rounds, they scored 24 goals and set a new record. They are also unbeaten in 30 consecutive games in all competitions.
However, the good state also came to an abrupt end here.
On January 16 this year, Paris lost to Rennes 0:1 inexplicably, ending its unbeaten record.
Just when everyone thought it was an accident, the team's state began to decline sharply.
On February 9th, they lost to Marseille 1:2 and stopped in the quarter-finals of the French Cup.
On February 12, they lost 1:3 to Mbappe's old club Monaco in Ligue 1, and then lost 0:1 to Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals in the early morning of the 15th.
Starting from February 9th, the sudden three-game losing streak is really cruel, but Paris must bear it.
Biggest Victim of the World Cup
What caused Paris Saint-Germain to collapse again habitually?
The reason this time is clear, and that was the World Cup in Qatar last winter.
Before the World Cup final, Paris could be regarded as the most proud club in the world of football, because Messi and Mbappé, the two major opponents in the World Cup final, both belonged to the team. The teams of these two superstars are undoubtedly the biggest winners in terms of fame and attention.
However, everyone only saw the positive side that the World Cup final brought to Paris, but deliberately ignored the hidden dangers and pain left by the World Cup to the club.
As we all know, Messi tried his best to help the Argentine team fulfill their 36-year long-cherished wish, and went back to China with the Hercules Cup in their hands for carnival.
As a loser, Mbappe has experienced the most painful day in his life, and his fighting spirit and enthusiasm have dropped to the lowest point.
Another big player in the team, Neymar, was injured and eliminated in the World Cup, suffering double damage to his body and mind.
Since then, the league has continued. Messi, Mbappe, and Neymar returned to the team after a period of recuperation, but they have not recovered to their original state, and they have all suffered new injuries, so that in the past month or so, Paris A total of four games were lost.
It can be said that despite Paris Saint-Germain's glamorous appearance, the aftereffects of the World Cup finals have caused them the most damage. Coupled with the habitual fall behind in the spring over the years, this is out of control.
Savior or Mbappe?
In this round of eighth-final contest with Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain actually has the strength and opportunity to come back.
When they fell behind by one goal, coach Galtier had to replace the injured Mbappe. This substitution had an immediate effect. If it weren't for a little bit of bad luck, Paris might turn defeat into victory .
When Mbappe came on the field, the frontcourt of Paris was immediately revitalized, just like the French team in the World Cup final. They played a wonderful 20 minutes in the second half. Mbappe faced Bayern's defense and scored two goals in a row, but They were all invalidated, otherwise, Mbappé would save the entire Paris Saint-Germain team by himself.
Although he failed to score a goal, Mbappe's deterrence was there, telling Bayern to be careful.
However, the current situation of Paris Saint-Germain is that almost all three lines are weak. Messi and Neymar are not in good condition. This is not the best Messi.
And Neymar was even worse. Not only did he concede as many goals as Messi, but he didn't even have a threatening pass. It's just that after Mbappe came on the field, his state improved.
It is not surprising that Paris Saint-Germain suffered a three-game losing streak.
Even if Mbappe is present, if other players do not provide relative support, it will be in vain.
After the game, Mbappe gave a very passionate and contagious speech in the locker room. It is said that it is majestic and thought-provoking. He already has the ability and confidence to lead a giant team to his dream. Under such circumstances, is it possible Is there only one Mbappé who saves Paris?
Who else can do the same?
aggressive challenger
From the current point of view, Mbappe, who is injured, is under a lot of pressure. Paris Saint-Germain has a poor record, and he cannot escape the blame; he is also responsible for not being able to connect with Messi and Neymar; and now the rising stars of Ligue 1 are aggressive. , Has driven Mbappe from the Ligue 1 scorer list to fifth place, which is what Paris fans don't want to see.
When we were still thinking that Mbappe was still scoring goals, the top spot in the Ligue 1 scorer list has been quietly occupied by a 21-year-old young shooter named Barlogan.
He is from England and was loaned from Arsenal by the Reims Club. At present, Barlogan has scored 15 goals in the league, two more than Mbappé.
In addition to Barlogan, who is not afraid of tigers when he is a newborn calf, only the 23-year-old Lille striker David has scored more goals than Mbappe.
In them, we have seen the shadow of Mbappé back then, and these young players will also challenge the former king through their own efforts.
The latecomers are already aggressive, and Mbappe can only show convincing strength to prove that he is still the king of Ligue 1.
However, if Paris Saint-Germain can't pass Bayern's hurdle, and it still can't change the situation of its collapse in the spring, then even if Mbappe returns from injury in time and adjusts his state, it will be useless at all.
The top priority is to let the head coach Galtier think carefully about the connection between Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. Under the premise of attracting Bayern's heavy troops, let one of the three stand out and seize the opponent's loopholes Complete the fatal blow.
Under such circumstances, there is still great hope for Paris to comeback and eliminate Bayern in the second round.
Only in this way, Mbappe's good time will not be wasted for another year, which will also allow him to fulfill his long-cherished Champions League wish as soon as possible.
Qilu Evening News