PSG slip-ups give glimmer of hope to Ligue 1 rivals
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Could there actually be a title race in France this season? That is the question being asked after Paris Saint-Germain slumped to a second defeat of 2023 on Sunday to give hope to its rivals at the halfway stage of the campaign.
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At the start of the season the question was whether the PSG of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar could go the whole campaign undefeated in the league.
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It duly went unbeaten through its first 16 games but that run was ended when it came up against its nearest challengers Lens on New Yearâs Day.
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With Messi still taking a post-World Cup break, PSG were blown away in an intimidating atmosphere in Franceâs far north and lost that game 3-1.
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On Sunday it suffered a second straight defeat on the road, losing 1-0 at Champions League chasers Rennes despite fielding Messi, Mbappe and Neymar together for the first time since the World Cup.
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Lens and Rennes are two of the best-run clubs in France and two of the strongest teams at home, so losing against these opponents is no disgrace.
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But it is the manner in which PSG has been beaten that is a cause for concern for coach Christophe Galtier.
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His team is yet to rediscover the form the form it enjoyed before the season paused for the World Cup.
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Now a crunch Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich is on the horizon -- the first leg in Paris is on February 14.
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âIf it is a question of time then it is urgent. We can find a thousand excuses, our players were scattered all over the place for weeks. But the World Cup is finished now,â Galtier said after Sundayâs game.
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PSGâs season will ultimately be defined by what happens in Europe, and another exit from the Champions League in the last 16 against Bayern -- a year after it went out to Real Madrid at the same stage -- could be very costly for Galtier.
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But a deep run in Europe may make them more likely to drop points in Ligue 1, like in 2021 when it reached the Champions League semi-finals and missed out on the domestic title to Lille.
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That was just the third season since the Qatari takeover of 2011 in which it has not finished as champions.
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- Lens and Marseille give chase -
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Halfway through this campaign, PSG is three points clear of Lens and five ahead of Marseille, which it still has to play away from home.
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Lens, whose only league title to date came in 1998, has been outstanding this season under coach Franck Haise and has won 10 in a row at its rocking Stade Bollaert, where packed crowds of 38,000 are greater than the population of the town itself.
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Steeped in the working-class tradition of a coal-mining region, Lens is a world away from the bright lights and glamour of Paris.
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The club has a modest budget and it was forced to sell several key players in the last close season, but it is a shining example for other mid-ranking French sides of what can be achieved.
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Meanwhile Marseille has put a painful exit from the Champions League in early November behind them and has won all six league games played since then.
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Under Croatian coach Igor Tudor, it played with a level of intensity and urgency in its weekend win over Lorient that was in stark contrast to PSG.
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It already has more points than when Marcelo Bielsaâs thrilling Marseille side topped the table halfway through the 2014/15 season before ultimately falling away.
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âWe have 42 points but we are only third,â Tudor said.
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âThat means two other teams are doing great work. We are halfway through a marathon and we will see who can keep it going.â
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Sportstar. (2023, January 16). PSG slip-ups give glimmer of hope to Ligue 1 rivals. https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/psg-ligue-1-title-race-lens-rennes-table-messi-mbappe-neymar-paris-st-germain-champions-league/article66384223.ece