Overwhelmed, Paris SG suffered the law of Newcastle and an erupting Saint James Park on Wednesday for the second day of the Champions League (4-1), a brutal challenge which made it lose first place in the difficult group F. Luis Enrique, the coach who arrived in the capital in the summer, said on the eve of the match that we were going to see, in this famously hot stadium, what PSG was made of. For the moment, this reshuffled team with numerous recruits and the departures of Messi, Neymar and Verratti, is made of soft wood.
A Saint James Park in turmoil
Saint James Park, which is the beating heart of Newcastle, perched on a hill, returned to the Champions League after more than 20 years, thanks to increased financial power with the takeover by the Saudi sovereign fund in 2021. And its supporters intended to show their passion in front of Europe. They did it beyond measure on Wednesday night. Under their sound blows, the Parisians seemed timid or even lost on the pitch, losing in numerous duels. The “Magpies” applied incredible pressure, haranguing the crowd after each successful tackle.
PSG tried to exert their usual pressure themselves, but after the quarter of an hour of play, the Black and White pushed them back, with aggression and tenacity. Paris symbolically cracked by its captain Marquinhos, who missed a restart from his area and offered a goal to Almiron (17th). In the process, a sign of the excitement of the entire team, Ugarte, sovereign at the bottom of the middle since the start of the season, himself missed an easy pass. In the 39th minute, Donnarumma thought he was saving his team with a Dantesque triple save, but the ball had in fact crossed the line after Burns’ header, and the stadium could roar with happiness after a check of the video assistance.
Marquinhos lectured
PSG’s 65% possession at half-time then seemed useless with few chances, a poorly taken free kick here, a recovery next to Dembélé on a knockdown from Mbappé there. A third bamboo blow occurred on Longstaff’s goal as soon as he returned from the locker room (50th). The Parisians, Mbappé in the lead – unrecognizable on Wednesday evening – returned to the field with their arms hanging. The reaction of pride finally arrived. Warren Zaire-Emery, at the age of 17, led the charge with an incisive first ball before delivering a caviar on the head of Lucas Hernandez for the French international’s first goal in Parisian colors (56th).
PSG rebalanced the debates at the end of the match, notably thanks to the entry of Barcola and Vitinha, while Newcastle seemed blunted. But the damage was done. Schär even added to this little humiliation by hitting the top corner at the very end of the match (90+1). Luis Enrique’s test, with the tenure for the first time together of Ramos, Kolo Muani, Dembélé and Mbappé, failed and the technician, who likes his teams to impose their intensity, showed all his frustration on the edge of the ground. Marquinhos in particular was surprised to wipe out some well-felt blowers.
However, on the first day on September 19, Paris ideally began its European campaign by dominating Dortmund at the Parc des Princes (2-0). Newcastle, who had brought home a good point from Milan (0-0), took the lead in the group thanks to the draw between Dortmund and Milan (0-0). The consolation is there for Paris, still second before hosting Milan at the end of October. But it was in the way that PSG worried on Wednesday evening, and with an average start to the season in Ligue 1 (5th in the ranking), Luis Enrique is already under pressure.