Reality check for PSG sans stars
With injuries to Mbappe and Cavani, and Neymar serving a two-match ban, hosts have task cut out
PARIS: The visit of Real Madrid to the French capital on Wednesday means a glamour tie for Paris Saint-germain to begin their Champions League campaign but a meeting with the Spanish side also brings back unhappy memories. When the clubs last met in Europe two seasons ago, a PSG side missing an injured Neymar were dumped out in the last 16.
That was one of three consecutive exits in the first knockout round for PSG, who have failed to make their mark on the Champions League despite all the money spent by their Qatari owners. So the inevitable question at the start of another continental campaign is can Thomas Tuchel’s team this time at least reach a semi-final in Europe’s elite club competition?
Last season it was Manchester United who embarrassed PSG. Since 2012 the only teams PSG have beaten in a Champions League knockout tie are Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea. For now, PSG will just be eager to make a statement in their opening match. But with Galatasaray and Club Brugge the other teams in Group A, it would be a monumental surprise if PSG failed to progress, even with Neymar suspended for the first two matches. The world’s most expensive player has overshadowed everything else at the club in recent months, with the saga of his hoped-for move back to Barcelona and then his return to action at the weekend, featuring a brilliant winner against Strasbourg in response to boos from angry supporters.
“I am very pleased because now it is finished,” said Tuchel of the transfer saga. Tuchel always wanted Neymar to stay. Saturday’s goal — his 52nd in 59 games for the club — illustrated why.
“My head is 100 per cent focused on PSG. I will give everything, as I have at every club I have played for,” said Neymar.
“Unfortunately in the last two years I have had serious injuries and I have missed a lot of matches. But when I have played I have performed, and I think my statistics have been among the best of my career.”
There is no doubt the presence of Neymar gives PSG a far greater chance of winning the biggest prize in European club football, as long as he stays fit.
As well as Neymar’s suspension against Real, Kylian Mbappe is still out with a hamstring injury, but the arrival of Mauro Icardi has added another explosive element to their attack.
Icardi was prolific for Inter before being stripped of the club captaincy last season amid a contract dispute. He signed on loan just before the transfer deadline.
MBAPPE RULED OUT Forwards Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani have been ruled out for PSG’S opening Champions League group stage. Mbappe picked up a hamstring injury and was forced off against Toulouse last month and has not featured since for PSG, while Cavani is out of action with a hip problem.
Meanwhile, Neymar’s Champions League ban for insulting match officials on social media has been reduced from three games to two following an appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Tuesday.
FELIX VS RONALDO MADRID: Young gun Joao Felix will lead the charge on Wednesday as his Atletico Madrid seek revenge on Juventus and their old enemy Cristiano Ronaldo in a potentially fiery Champions League opener. Felix, touted as the heir to Ronaldo’s throne, will make his debut in Europe’s top competition when the Portuguese pair meet at the Wanda Metropolitano, with the La Liga outfit keen to shoot down the five-time Ballon d’or winner.
Juventus dumped Atletico out of the competition last year as Ronaldo scored a sensational hat-trick that overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit and put the Italian champions in the quarter finals.
The former Real Madrid man rounded off the evening by celebrating provocatively in front of the away fans at Juve’s Allianz Stadium. Now Felix is charged with bringing the old master down a peg or two.
The 19-year-old has been hailed as the new ‘CR7’ after his breakout season at Benfica last year, scoring 20 times as the twotime European champions won the Primeira Liga and reached the Europa League quarters. Ronaldo’s former manager at Madrid Jose Mourinho said that Atletico had bagged a “an incredible player” for a club record fee of 126 million euros.
“I think he can cope. He seems to have a good personality,” said Mourinho. “He’s in a good team, surrounded by experienced players.