PSG - Ligue 1 Into The Final Stretch

With Ligue 1 now heading into the home stretch, Paris Saint-Germain find themselves vying with Lyon for third place and Champions League qualification after a disappointing run of results saw them slip out of the title race in March. Currently fourth but only on goal difference, le PSG are in good form going into their final five matches but will be frustrated that they are not still in contention for higher honours.

Disappointing results against Rennes (1-0) and Lens (0-0) saw the side stall in February, dropping from second to fourth whilst nervously looking over their shoulder at a resurgent Lyon side closing on their position. But despite this blip, progress into the last 16 of the Europa League after a victory on away goals over BATE Borisov of Belarus (2-2) added to good victories in Nice (0-3) and at home to Toulouse (2-1) saw the side rally and climb back into second place by the end of the month.

However, this was to be where les Parisiens’ title charge came to an abrupt end as devastating results in Auxerre (1-0), at home to Montpellier (2-2) and away to Marseille (2-1) in the Clasico nearly destroyed PSG’s season as they slipped to fifth place. In addition to only gathering one point from a possible nine domestically, the side also crashed out of the Europa League on away goals to Benfica following a 2-1 away defeat and a 1-1 draw at home.

The only consolation the capital side took from a miserable March was progression into the semi finals of the Coupe de France, thanks to a 2-0 victory at home to Le Mans, where they were drawn against further Ligue 2 opposition Angers.

Faced with a difficult task of having to motivate a group of players struggling to recreate the scintillating form that saw them top the table earlier in the season and amidst rumours of changing room unrest (Mamadou Sakho, Guillaume Hoarau and Mevlut Erding were accused of being disruptive by elder members of the squad including captain Claude Makelele), the pressure was building on Antoine Kombouare heading into May.

This tension showed no signs of abating as PSG started the month playing out a tame 0-0 draw with Lorient, looking like they were ready to drop out of European contention completely.

What followed though was a run of important victories over Caen (1-2) and Lyon (1-0), dragging themselves back into the Champions League reckoning whilst pegging Lyon back as Rennes slipped to fifth. A 2-2 draw away at Brest was disappointing, particularly as Lyon failed to win, maintaining the three point gap between the sides. But this weekend’s 3-1 victory over Valenciennes coupled with Lyon’s disastrous 0-2 defeat in Toulouse means that PSG are now only fourth on goal difference and a victory over Monaco next week will heap the pressure on Lyon ahead of their crunch match with Marseille.

In addition to their strong domestic finish to the month, PSG ousted Angers in the Coupe de France semi finals (1-3) to face Lille in two weeks time with a chance to defend their crown as last year’s winners.

With matches left against Monaco, Nancy, Bordeaux, Lille and Saint-Etienne with Lyon and Rennes facing tough run-ins, Kombouare will surely fancy that his side can pick up at least nine points from a possible 15 to give les Rouges-et-Bleu a fantastic opportunity to bring Champions League football back to Parc des Princes for the first time since 2004.