PSG’s record French title season full of low points

Paris Saint-Germain’s season is ending with celebrations after a record 11th French title, but it’s been one of the most fraught and tension-filled campaigns for many years that saw fans turning on the players, including soccer great Lionel Messi, and the club president.

PSG’s 1-1 draw at Strasbourg on Saturday secured the trophy with a round to spare and took the Paris club past Saint-Étienne’s 10 titles. But perhaps this season will mostly be remembered for the many low points.

“It’s not been the best season for PSG,” captain Marquinhos said recently.

Coach Christophe Galtier was hired to oversee a new era after bigger-name managers had failed to secure a coveted first Champions League title for the club. Galtier pledged there would be no favors for star players but he ended up falling short in Europe anyway, and even had to fight for his job at the end of a troubled first season. Galtier is not expected to be in charge for a second campaign.

HOME LOSSES AND ARGUMENTS

Parc des Princes was once a fortress for PSG but not this season, as it lost three home games in the league.

Players were jeered off the field after home defeats, including back-to-back losses to Rennes and Lyon without even scoring a goal. Even Lorient, a modest side which finished in 10th place, won 3-1 in Paris.

FANS TARGET MESSI

When results were going poorly, some of the fans’ anger was targeted toward Messi, who was seen to be underperforming after his return from winning the World Cup with Argentina. And yet it was his goal against Strasbourg that ended up clinching the title, underlining his status once again as arguably the sport’s biggest star. It was also Messi’s 496th league goal in Europe and broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring record for Europe’s top five leagues.

Messi is not expected to take up the option for an extra year on the contract he signed two years ago, and next Saturday’s home game against Clermont is expected to be his last. This season, Messi has 16 league goals and 16 assists with one game left.

RUN OF DEFEATS

Unbeaten before the World Cup started in November, PSG has lost nine matches overall in 2023.

“A lot of things changed after the World Cup,” Marquinhos said. “It was very demanding in terms of energy, emotions and we were unable to maintain our level.”

INCONSISTENT RIVALS

Galtier’s side was knocked out of the French Cup by bitter rival Marseille, and could have lost the league title as well if its challengers had been more consistent.

Marseille won eight straight away games, one short of its own record, but dropped a slew of points at home and let PSG off the hook. PSG lost at home to Brest on Saturday.

Also, Lens dominated at Parc des Princes in April before a clumsy red card gifted PSG the initiative and it won 3-1.

Without goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and Kylian Mbappé, who became PSG’s alltime leading scorer and has the most league goals this season, PSG could have lost the title.

Mbappé has netted a league-high 28 goals with one game left.