1 positive and 3 negatives from PSG’s reversal to city rivals Paris FC

PSG’s last domestic game of the season ended in a disappointing defeat as the newly crowned Champions were flatly beaten 2-1 by city rivals Paris FC, a team who had already knocked PSG out of the Coupe de France earlier this season.

Let’s have a look at some of the positives and negatives from a disappointing encounter to end the season.

Positive #1: Barcola scores 11th of the season with fine finish

Bradley Barcola scored his 11th goal of the season last night with a fine finish at the back post, opening the scoring after some good work on the left hand side by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Frenchman’s 11th goal of the season means that he has finished the season as PSG’s top goal scorer in Ligue 1 for the first time, although with fewer goals than he managed in the competition last season (14). It’s been an inconsistent season for Barcola, although there has been a definite upturn in form from the French winger over the back half of the campaign, in which his finishing has become more precise and regular.

Negative #1: PSG cut open too easily: it doesn’t bode well for the Champions League final

PSG’s defence looked too easy to expose yesterday: Paris FC, even before their first goal, managed to find themselves bearing down on Safonov’s goal far too easily. PSG absolutely need to tighten up their defence and make themselves harder to beat before the Champions League final that will take place in just under two weeks time. In fairness to the Parisians, they have, this season, generally managed to up their game in the big Champions League clashes, and now have to do so again.

Negative #2: Dembélé limps off after 26 minutes

Ousmane Dembélé is perhaps the last player PSG fans would have wanted to see limp off in the first half of yesterday’s game. The man who has been unanimously described by the French press as being the technical leader of this PSG side and perhaps their most important player certainly didn’t take any chances when he felt something yesterday, being substituted and replaced by Gonçalo Ramos early on. PSG fans will hope that this was only a precautionary measure and that Dembélé will be 100% fit and ready to start before the final vs Arsenal.

Negative #3: Safonov called upon once more to make number of saves

For the second time in a week, Matvei Safonov was arguably PSG’s best player in a league game (following the midweek clash at Lens in which the Russian shot-stopper somehow kept a clean sheet). Yesterday he was called upon to make seven saves, far too many for PSG’s defence to have been truly serene. In fairness to Enrique and his squad, regulars Hakimi, Pacho and Nuno Mendes were all absent, and should return for the game against Arsenal, but nevertheless it’s another reminder that PSG’s defence is not as infallible as it appeared to be last season, and that Safonov will have to be at his very best for the side from Paris to lift their second consecutive Champions League trophy come the 30th.

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