Marseille Sit Atop Ligue 1 Leaving Paris St Germain In Dust During Winter Break
Paris St Germain have been definitively overcome by bitter rivals, Olympique de Marseille heading into the winter break, as Marcelo Biesla’s men sustained a dominate performance over Lille to secure the Ligue 1 throne. At the Stade Velodrome, a place where Marseille almost always flourish in good performances, L’OM found victory and supremacy with a 2-1 win propelling themselves ahead of dreary Paris at 41 points to Paris’ 38.
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This appropriate win comes after the unconvincing performance Paris St Germain had at the Parc des Princes on Saturday, their grounds for French football domination, where the Capital side saw a myriad of inconsistent chemistry, ineffective midfield function as well as a much weaker attack than what the football world is used too, resulting in a 0-0 draw between superbly defensive Montpellier.
Rolland Courbis’ men where essentially scheduled to be the sacrificial lambs against Paris, as the club desperately looked to regain their winning form, yet instead did not seize the clear opportunity against the weaker side and came out of the match with a the toothless draw.
The only positive that had found itself on the Parc des Princes pitch was the fact that Les Parisians can still claim their undefeated status at home; but this statistic is a cloak on the bigger issues surrounding the overall dynamic of the squad. One of the greatest problems the club has built itself on is entitlement– in some ways it’s been merited and in others it is not.
When a club has the inflation in finances, egos and top talents as PSG, it’s certain that the criticism of the clubs poor performances would be extreme– yet this is because there is no excuse in their case. The season so far has been a redundant lesson on the same problems which inflict the best growth for Paris.
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Although Laurent Blanc’s men have the power to subdue themselves in the French league and get away with victories for 2 seasons straight doesn’t mean that they will get away with it forever. Paris’ lack of acknowledgement for the competition in Ligue 1 will creep up on them and it seems to have started now– especially will the rebirth of Olympique de Marseille.
C.Gavelle/PSG
The good part of this is that Marseille may not have those who have influenced them heavily next year, according to rumors, and this includes prolific Andre Pierre Gignac. Of course this allows Paris St Germain more wiggle room for titles in the coming seasons; but this is just a thought for the future.
There is certainly a heavy amount of work for Laurent Blanc to do, especially since his place with the club could be in deeper waters than one would predict. With a club whose purposes are boastful, powerful and result oriented, Blanc must force results from his team with the same aggressions he insists as a coach.
Although this isn’t solely a coach issue anymore, coaches do get the blunt of the responsibility– all celebrity must be stripped and the team need a new building block with each other, as a whole and as an elite unity in Europe. Blanc is clearly not unaware of the problems as clearly expressed after the clubs 0-0 draw with Montpellier on Saturday via Bleacher Report:
"‘There were positives in our play, even if our transition was too slow and we lacked a little determination in front of goal. It wasn’t enough to beat Montpellier. The match was not complete, much like our first half of the campaign. Offensively, we didn’t do enough to win this match.We needed to make it happen, and we didn’t do it. Now we need to recharge the batteries. The winter break will be good for us, both mentally and physically’."
From Laurent Blanc’s perspective, he understands the enormous amount of work that need to be done to reclaim Paris’ place among the top flight competition in France. If it is as simple as a break, then Paris St Germain fans should see a rejuvenated side fulfill their duties come the new year. The clubs start to the season was plagued with injury and for the first time in 2 years one of France’s toughest opponents at their door. We can only wait and see, but they will certainly continue to have a critical eye if things do not change.
Revons Plus Grand!