Maybe that’s good timing, what we call having a sense of rhythm or tempo. There was in fact no better time to regain color, (re) set sail, too, at the top of the ranking. Paris had not won in the championship for exactly a month. So returning to success after three dull draws already seemed like good news. But since it definitively completes this suspense which was already not breathing much in Ligue 1 and almost only sends positive signals, it is in reality taking on the appearance of a highway towards hope, if not yet the one who leads to happiness.
After the victory (0-2) in Nantes on the evening of the 22nd day, Paris certainly had an additional unit of margin since it left Brest thirteen lengths behind. This Sunday in Montpellier, Luis Enrique’s troops took off again in this ranking which had tightened just a little bit. This Monday morning, they are twelve points ahead of Brest, their runner-up. It’s certainly one less than a month ago, but it’s worth so much more now with eight days to go.
Never in the 21st century has a leader with such a margin let the title slip away so close to the goal. Caution accompanying each of their steps and words, Vitinha did not put himself in danger in the mixed zone when the question was asked whether Paris had validated its 12th championship title on Sunday in Montpellier.
“We know that we are closer and that we have taken a very important step,” smiled the scorer and double-assist of the evening in front of the microphones. But it’s not yet won, there are eight games remaining. Eight matches during which we will have to show the same attitude and the same seriousness. » As Manuel Ugarte explained in turn, the most essential point of this Hérault evening is that Paris “may have found its reference match. »
Despite the quarter-hour wind gap, again, which allowed Montpellier to find the fault, twice, and to regain hope before the break, Paris showed an increasingly impressive collective power
“We are on the same momentum as we have been for a month”
Enough to send signals to the competition before the decisive tunnel – trip to OM on March 31, Coupe de France semi-final against Rennes on April 3, Clermont on the 6th and Champions League quarter-final first leg against Barcelona on the 10th. ) which awaits Paris after the international break. “It’s always important to win,” continues Vitinha. But it’s even more so before the break, just to show everyone that PSG is like that in the championship, but that it will also be like that in the Champions League and the Coupe de France. »
The Portuguese knows, however, that his team has not always displayed an untouchable profile since the start of its European campaign. Undefeated at home, he has only won one on the road, the last in the round of 16 second leg against Sociedad. A timely victory which, combined with the last outings in the Cup last Wednesday against Nice (3-1) and this Sunday in Montpellier (2-6) confirms that, if everything was not perfect, Enrique was in the true when he assured that his team would be better at this time of the year when the decisive matches arrived.
Today, Paris overall impresses, seems sure of its strengths and magnifies the talent of Kylian Mbappé and Vitinha, decisive players in the Parisian metamorphosis of recent weeks. The lead, above all, that he has in Ligue 1, will allow the coach to continue with what he particularly likes: turnover. “I think we are on the same momentum as we have been for a month. It’s a run where the team performs very well in all matches. No matter which player is going to play, we show that we are ready,” concluded the Spanish coach on Sunday evening after the success against MHSC.
A rotation which should allow him to manage his troops, spare those who need it, and keep in shape those who want it, especially after the international break and the long journeys that it may impose on some. All this with one and the same goal that everyone is present when the final matches come and that Paris takes this increasingly exciting exercise a little further.
