Stakes high for PSG on crucial trip to Napoli
Paris Saint-Germain face the genuine danger of an early elimination from the Champions League as they take on Napoli today. New coach Thomas Tuchel has overseen a record-breaking start to the French season with 12 wins from 12 games in Ligue 1 after Kylian Mbappe and Neymar scored in a 2-1 victory over Lille on Friday. But the situation in Europe is very different.
The two most expensive players in the world did not distinguish themselves when PSG lost 3-2 at Liverpool in September, and two weeks ago it took an Angel Di Maria goal in injury time to earn the French side a 2-2 draw at home to Napoli.
Tuchel’s team currently sit third in Champions League Group C, two points behind Liverpool and one adrift of Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli, with Red Star Belgrade the whipping boys in the section. A defeat in the heated atmosphere of the San Paolo today, then, and Paris could find themselves four points behind the top two with two games to play, including a home clash with Liverpool later this month.
Tuchel needs a big performance from his star players, but he will also need cool heads in Naples. That is why the German is expected to start with veteran Italian Gianluigi Buffon in goal, with the 40-year-old no stranger to the atmosphere at Napoli’s home ground — he is available after being suspended for the first three group games.
PSG will also hope that Edinson Cavani can shake off a muscle problem in time to feature at the stadium where he used to be idolised before moving to France in 2013. “I had three fantastic years at Napoli. I have lots of memories from my time at the club,” the Uruguayan striker said. “It will be difficult, but not impossible.”
PSG have spent over 400mn euros ($456mn) on Neymar and Mbappe in August 2017. Such an investment was meant to accelerate PSG’s rise to the status of uncontested European superpower, and yet the fear is that they are going backwards on the continental stage.
After four successive runs to the Champions League quarterfinals, they were knocked out in the last 16 in each of the last two years, by Barcelona and Real Madrid. Now they might not even make it that far, and that could be seriously damaging to their reputation.
It would also bring back the doubts over how long Neymar will hang around. “It will be a good match to show that we have moved up to a higher level, and that we are able to deal with this kind of pressure,” Cavani said of the game.
Ancelotti, meanwhile, knows all about PSG’s obsession with the Champions League having coached the club to the last eight in 2013. “Paris have paid for their lack of experience in big Champions League matches, but now they have a stronger team than last year because they have more confidence,” Ancelotti said.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
FIXTURES TODAY (Times in GMT)
Group A: Monaco v Club Brugge (1755); Atletico Madrid v Borussia Dortmund (2000)
Group B: Inter Milan v Barcelona (2000); Tottenham v PSV Eindhoven (2000)
Group C: Red Star Belgrade v Liverpool (1755); Napoli v Paris Saint Germain (2000)
Group D: FC Porto v Lokomotiv Moscow (2000); FC Schalke v Galatasaray (2000)