PARIS — Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid picked a huge three points at Parc des Princes with a 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday which has pushed Luis Enrique’s side out of the top 24 and a place in the top 24 for the time being. The narrow victory at Parc des Princes puts the French giants on four points from a possible 12 to worsen Luis Enrique’s already unflattering win percentage with Paris and moves Atleti into a potential knockout berth.
Warren Zaire-Emery’s opener after being teed up by Ousmane Dembele just 14 minutes in hinted at a game full of goals on Wednesday but it was not to be with Nahuel Molina’s equalizer four minutes later the extent of the goal-scoring action until Angel Correa won it late on. Instead, it was a game shaped by Simeone’s battling spirit which was reflected in the final score which saw Jan Oblak shine in the visiting goal with the few sights of the home goal resulting in goals for a team that had lost its way since the opening day.
“I have no words,” said Luis Enrique postgame. “I think that we have been infinitely superior to our opponents in our last three home games but that luck has not been on our side. We have four games to go and we will fight as long as we have those games left. It is difficult to explain this result, though. I have been in soccer for more than 30 years and I cannot make sense of it. It is purely bad luck.”
Where PSG go next from here is anyone’s guess with Bayern Munich and Red Bull Salzburg on the road next up in Europe before anyone next visits the French capital and having lost to Arsenal and Atleti while being held by PSV Eindhoven puts the Ligue 1 kings in a weak position. Making matters worse is that Stade Brestois 29, AS Monaco and Lille OSC have all been out-performing Les Parisiens who are now bringing the French UEFA coefficient down having kept it up for years almost singlehandedly.
Paris are now teetering on the brink of an embarrassing elimination in the League Phase which was previously unthinkable regardless of a tricky-looking fixture list when the draw was first made which still includes a presently vulnerable Manchester City at home. Luis Enrique has a big job on to save the positivity which has generally prevented him from being criticized up until now which will likely change in the wake of Simeone’s rope-a-dope success on French soil when PSG were expected to come out on top.
There is little else for Paris to do but target 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 is not going to take them through to the knockout phase. The start of 2025 is not much better with City the only home game remaining with 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 now out of PSG’s hands whether or not they can reach the knockout phase but given this is its first edition it is too early to tell although at least six points from 12 is needed which is not the current ratio. Should they lose to Bayern next time out, then the chances of Luis Enrique’s men advancing much further will understandably be diminished further to the point that they will be among the favorites to crash out and suffer a humiliating and unexpected premature exit.
The Spaniard can bleat all he likes about bad luck and his team creating chances but at some point those chances need to be take and this is not an isolated incident with PSG — it cost them a place in last year’s final. Whether or not Goncalo Ramos’ return will solve those issues remains to be seen but right now this Parisien side is not nearly clinical enough to hop to advance to the knockout phase and that will bother Luis Enrique between now and the Bayern game later this month.
