The three points and zero injured, Paris avoids a big trap and is already looking towards City

At the Parc des Princes,

Falling from high against Manchester City when they had the match in hand in the first period, the Parisians made up for it in Ligue 1, winning 2-1 against Lens at the Parc on Saturday afternoon. However, knowing the propensity of this team to wallow in the great widths when it plays at home in the league, this meeting vis-a-vis the uninhibited Sang et Or was quite the match breaker.

On arrival, with a strongly reshaped team (Mbappé injured, Florenzi, Verratti and Di Maria on the bench at kick-off), the Pochettino gang managed to avoid the trap and continue to put pressure on Lille, thanks in particular to to the two goals of Neymar and Marquinhos, in a title race which is still in full swing.

Paris finally beats a top 6 at the Parc

But if PSG, oh supreme miracle, finally managed to hit a top 6 this season at home (after the defeats against Lille, Lyon, Monaco and OM), we can not say either that it offered a incredible spectacle to its viewers / supporters. “It is not a brilliant victory but it is a deserved victory against a team which plays very well in football”, agreed Pochettino at the microphone of Canal + after the match.

In conf, a little later, the Argentinian gave a layer of praise on the Lensoise toast. “It was very difficult. I said it before the match, Lens is a team that plays football very well. I congratulate Franck on that, they have clear ideas, they know what they are doing in the field, they are very dynamic. It really is the revelation of this season. We deserve the victory but we had to fight to get it. “

Regarding his PSG, Saturday, Pochettino said he appreciated “the character of the team, its resilience, its ability to fight to the end”. “Especially after such a match against City,” he rightly added. City, we come indeed. Because to be honest, this match quickly gave way at a press conference to that of Tuesday, without the Parisian coach finding anything wrong. He returned to the evening of Wednesday, admitting without hiding that it had been “difficult to move on” and to refocus on the championship.

All the more difficult as for him, PSG has achieved “the best 45 minutes” since his arrival in the capital in early January. “Especially against a team like City, which will win the Premier League and which works together, with Pep [Guardiola] since many years. Honestly, it’s something I wouldn’t have imagined after only four months of working with this group, ”he said.

Feet in Paris but head in City

With three points against Lens in their pocket, the thoughts of Parisians inevitably quickly shifted to the north of England and this battle that we imagine epic and that we hope to be victorious. It is also in anticipation of the semi-final return that Poché wanted Neymar to play the entire match against the Lensois. “To be on top, Ney needs to play a lot because he has been away for a long time. He is a player who is recovering quickly and there will be no problem for Tuesday. He didn’t take a hit, that’s the main thing. “

This is not really the opinion of Leonardo, who threw his little crisis against the referee in the corridors of the Park after the meeting. Furax, the Brazilian sporting director believed (probably rightly) that a penalty should have been granted to PSG at the very end of the match. But this rant must above all be read in the context of Tuesday’s game. Because if Paris did the job against Lens, the heads were already in Manchester.