The Ligue 1 leaders have lost three matches in 2023, most recently on Wednesday in a 2-1 loss to arch-rivals Olympique de Marseille in the French Cup last 16 when they were overwhelmed throughout by the aggression of the Provence side, Reuters reports.
With Kylian Mbappe out injured for another two weeks, meaning he will not play against Bayern at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, PSG miss out on winning the match while Neymar was hugely disappointing against Marseille.
Only Lionel Messi up front has been meeting his standards lately and that wouldn’t be enough against the Bundesliga giants.
“When they collide, no one really responds. It’s always the same: if they can play at their own pace, no problem,” former OM and Paris Saint-Germain player Edouard Cisse told French sports newspaper L’Equipe on Thursday.
“As soon as the opposing team increases the intensity, they lose.”
In the midfield, Paris Saint-Germain dominated greatly, as only Marco Verratti had the ability to hold on, and Vitina, who was chosen as a playmaker behind Messi and Neymar, did not appear, as Christophe Galtier re-formed his team in the absence of Mbappe. He can put his attackers in the best positions.
Instead, Bayern have been rediscovering their form, scoring eight goals in their last two Bundesliga matches – not a good omen for PSG, whose defense has often been at a loss.
Sergio Ramos may have scored Wednesday’s equaliser, but his aggressiveness doesn’t make up for his lack of pace and poor sense of anticipation and often leaves Spaniard Marquinhos on his own.
The Brazilian, once again, urged his teammates to get up on Wednesday.
“We need to shut our mouths and act,” he said.
PSG’s best course of action might be to dig deep and find some pride ahead of Saturday’s Ligue 1 game against Monaco and Tuesday against Bayern Munich.
“We are disappointed and angry,” said goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
If talent has been missing at PSG lately, anger could take them somewhere.
M