PSG's chance to seal the Ligue 1 title once and for all was halted on yet another occasion, as Paris Saint-Germain fell to a very humiliating defeat away to second place Lille, with the home side winning 5-1.
With just a point needed to confirm the Parisians as champions, the manager, Thomas Tuchel, still fielded a relatively strong side, with stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Thiago Silva, and Marco Verratti all starting.
However, everything went down the drain for PSG, as they conceded a very early goal, with Thomas Meunier putting the ball into his own net. Yet, just a few minutes after, Bernat equalised for the champions.
After the equaliser, thing went downhill really quickly, with both Thiago Silva and Meunier getting injured and being forced off, whilst their goalscorer, Bernat, got sent off. As a result, PSG lost three players, all in the first half.
Things got much worse in the second half, as Lille scored instantly, and then continued to attack, gradually scoring so much that the match ended with Lille hammering PSG by five goals to one.
This proved to be the first time since 2000 that PSG have conceded five goals in the league, and the first time since that famous Barcelona comeback, that PSG have conceded five goals in any competition.
Take nothing away from Lille, as they were simply brilliant, but PSG were toothless, horrific and just plain disappointing, considering the vast amount of talent that is present in the squad.
Paris Saint-Germain have often been heavily criticised for steamrolling Ligue 1, yet performing very badly in the UEFA Champions League, as highlighted this season through their early exit from the Round of 16, against Manchester United. However, this result sheds a new light on the level of competition present in French football. Whilst they may still have the league well and truly confirmed, PSG have gone and lost against Lille and Lyon in recent weeks, whilst also failing to beat the Coupe de la Ligue champions, Strasbourg, on both occasions in the league.
With Tuchel's position as manager being extremely under question after the exit from the Champions League, these stutters in securing the league title will not help his claim to remain as manager, especially when plenty of managers from all around Europe are being rumoured to take his place.
PSG are still surely going to be the Ligue 1 champions, and they will have another chance to finally secure the title when they travel to Nantes on Wednesday.
Comments