PSG’s late collapse against Atlético Madrid puts pressure on Luis Enrique as path to knockout stage looks cloudy

PARIS — Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid picked up three big points at the Parc des Princes with a 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday that has left Luis Enrique’s team outside the top 24 and a place in the bottom 24 first for the moment. The narrow victory at the Parc des Princes puts the French giants with four points out of a possible 12 to worsen Luis Enrique’s already unflattering winning percentage with Paris and places Atleti in a potential knockout spot.

Warren Zaire-Emery’s first goal following a goal from Ousmane Dembélé in the 14th minute hinted at a goal-filled game on Wednesday, but Nahuel Molina’s equalizer four minutes later was not the extent of the scoring action until Ángel Correa won . it’s late. Instead, it was a match marked by Simeone’s fighting spirit that was reflected in the final score, in which Jan Oblak shone in the visiting goal and the few views of the home goal resulted in goals for a team that had lost the course since the opening day. .

“I have no words,” Luis Enrique said after the game. “I think we have been infinitely superior to our rivals in our last three home games, but luck has not been on our side. We have four games left and we will fight as long as we have those games left. It is difficult but I cannot explain this result. I have I’ve been in football for over 30 years and I can’t understand it.

Nobody knows where PSG will go from here, as Bayern Munich and Red Bull Salzburg will be on the road to Europe before anyone visits the French capital and having lost to Arsenal and Atleti while in the hands of PSV Eindhoven puts the kings of Ligue 1 in a difficult situation. weak position. To make matters worse, Stade Brestois 29, AS Monaco and Lille OSC have overtaken Les Parisiens, who are now lowering France’s UEFA coefficient after maintaining it for years almost single-handedly.

Paris are now on the verge of an embarrassing exit in the League Phase that was previously unthinkable despite a fixture list that looked complicated when the draw was first made and which still includes a currently vulnerable Manchester City at home. Luis Enrique has a lot of work to do to salvage the positivity that has generally prevented him from being criticized until now, which will likely change in the wake of Simeone’s success on French soil, when PSG were expected to emerge victorious.

Paris doesn’t have much to do other than aim for wins over Bayern and Salzburg and see where that leaves the team by the end of 2024, but the immediate situation requires attention and shows that the current level of performance will not take them to the top. knockout phase. The start of 2025 isn’t much better, with City the only home game left and a trip to VfB Stuttgart also part of the planning between now and the end of the League Phase.

It is tempting to say that it is no longer in PSG’s hands whether or not they can reach the knockout stage, but given that this is their first edition, it is too early to tell, although at least six points out of 12 are needed, which is not the current proportion. . If they lose to Bayern next time, the chances of Luis Enrique’s men advancing much further will understandably be reduced to the point of being among the favorites to go down and suffer a humiliating and unexpected premature exit.

The Spaniard can complain all he wants about bad luck and his team creating opportunities, but at some point those opportunities have to be taken and this is not an isolated incident with PSG – it cost them a place in last year’s final. It remains to be seen whether the return of Gonçalo Ramos will solve those problems or not, but at the moment this Parisian team is not clinical enough to advance to the knockout stage and that will bother Luis Enrique between now and the game against Bayern at the end of this month.