Thoughts On Paris St Germain’s Current Form

Paris St Germain has been a frustrating club to follow since the beginning of the 2014-2015 season. Their dazzle is quickly beginning to show remnants of dust and this is a problem Laurent Blanc has yet to fix.

This by no means implies that the Parisians haven’t been performing without a large chunk of their squad either rested from international duty or injury, but what it does imply, is that if the club want to win the Champions League, their consistency, must be refined. Blanc has a slew of issues to deal with, on top of the fact that the pressure from President Nasser Al-Khelaifi is most certainly looming behind all the decisions he makes. Al-Khelaifi, so far, has been patient in his attempt to make Paris the biggest club in Europe and the world, but there is no secret in his overall goals.

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So far, Paris has been a shadow of themselves in Ligue 1, compared to who they are in the Champions League. But their match with Cyprus side, APOEL FC on Tuesday reverses that idea completely. Winning only by a narrow margin on a goal by Edinson Cavani in the 87th minute – a wonderful display of individual technique against the Cyprus defense, but up until that point the game was not anything special.

A few attempts by Lucas Moura could have easily put the Parisians ahead, as APOEL played a sluggish game at home, pressing Paris within the defensive area of their own half. Yet, the problem lies in Paris’ inability to have a finishing touch and need to have the finishing touch without Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

photo credit: C.Gavelle/PSG

Since Zlatan’s absence with injury, his struggle is also seen on the pitch with the squad. Their pace is just not the same – their momentum is lingering, but never goes into full gear. The most frustrating part of it all is Cavani’s failure in taking the lead in Zlatan’s absence, putting into question how important he makes his presence on the team and the pitch. Does he really have a lack of confidence, or is his magic from Napoli unrealistic in French football?

Although it was only Thiago Silva’s first game back, since being long laid off by injury since August, his shaky start was witnessed to all – including the lack of leadership from David Luiz. Silva’s clumsy attempts were exposed more than once and it was often to protect Salvatore Sirgu on a few occasions where messy clean up that with a much more sophisticated team, could have ended Paris’ night in disaster. Luckily for Paris St Germain, they can still afford to build upon the squad that is left, after the plague of injuries that have wiped out most of their valuable players. The hope is that Blanc, being a coach who demands aggression, will begin to recognize the stale state of his men and enforce change.

Otherwise, their Champions League hopes could slip.