PSG’s defeat against Barça (2-3) on Wednesday puts PSG in a perilous situation, according to the statistics. No French team has qualified for the next round in the Champions League after losing the first leg at home.
PSG fans who are keen on statistics should not read the following lines. The day after the Parisian defeat against FC Barcelona (2-3) in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League, the chances of qualifying for Luis Enrique’s men for the next round are almost reduced to nothing… if the we only rely on the club’s past performances on the continental scene.
Take inspiration from… Metz
Paris has never managed to qualify for the next round in the Champions League in the four times it lost the first leg at home. The Parisians failed against AC Milan in 1995 (semi-finals, 0-1, 0-2), Barça in 2015 (quarters, 1-3, 0-2), Manchester City in 2021 (semi-final, 1-2, 0-2) and Bayern in 2023 (8th, 0-1, 0-2).
The scenario was repeated two other times in the UEFA Cup (former name of the Europa League) for Paris against Videoton in 1984 (16th, 2-4, 0-1) and Juventus in 1990 (16th, 0-1, 1-2) without counting the humiliation in the European Super Cup against Juventus in 1996 (1-6, 1-3) even if it was a final and not a match direct elimination.
The statistic even extends to French clubs: no representative of the elite has reversed the trend of returning to C1 after losing in their stadium during the first round. Another figure may make Marquinhos’ teammates dizzy: in its history, Barça have qualified 40 times out of the 42 times they won the first leg away from home. One of his two failures can give a small glimmer of hope to the Parisians since it occurred against a French club.
In 1984, Barça was eliminated at home by FC Metz (1-4) in the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup after having largely won in Moselle (2-4) in the first leg. The Catalans even opened the score on the return before Tony Kurbos, author of a hat-trick, and the Messins turned everything around in one of the most memorable exploits in French football. Forty years later, PSG is aiming for a new one.
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2024-04-11 10:54:24
#stats #encourage #optimism #Paris #return
