The noose is tightening on Paris Saint-Germain. Beaten for the second time this season in the Champions League this Tuesday on the pitch of Sporting Portugal (2-1), Luis Enrique’s men lost ground in the regular phase standings at the end of the last matches of the 7th day played on Wednesday evening.
While they occupied third place before challenging their Lisbon opponent, Ousmane Dembélé and his partners lost three places and are now ranked 6th before hosting Newcastle at the conclusion of the first phase of competition, on Wednesday January 28.
Paris will not have the right to make mistakes
If they are assured of being at least in the top 24 and therefore of being play-offs, since the draw brought back from Bilbao on December 10 (0-0), the Parisians remain in the fight to secure one of the first eight places, which would allow them to qualify directly for the round of 16.
But if the Parisians are still in favorable waivers, they will certainly not have the right to make mistakes next week. With 13 points on the clock, the title holders are followed by seven teams with the same number of points as them (Newcastle, Chelsea, Barcelona, Sporting, Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Atalanta).
The ranking of the regular phase after the 7th day
1 – Arsenal : 21 points (+ 18)
2 – Bayern Munich : 18 points (+ 13)
3 – Real Madrid : 15 points (+ 11)
4 – Liverpool : 15 points (+ 6)
5 – Tottenham : 14 points (+ 8)
6 – PSG : 13 points (+ 10)
7 – Newcastle : 13 points (+ 10)
8 – Chelsea : 13 points (+ 6)
9 – FC Barcelona : 13 points (+ 5)
10 – Sporting Portugal : 13 points (+ 5)
11 – Manchester City : 13 points (+ 4)
12 – Atlético Madrid: 13 points (+ 3)
13 – Atalanta Bergamo: 13 points (+1)
14 – Inter Milan : 12 points (+ 6)
15 – Juventus Turin : 12 points (+ 4)
16 – Borussia Dortmund : 11 points (+ 4)
17 – Galatasaray : 10 points (0)
18 – Qarabag : 10 points (-2)
Saved by its excellent goal difference (+10), Paris is ahead of its closest pursuers for the moment, but will seriously jeopardize its chances of finishing in the top 8 in the event of a setback against the Magpies at the Parc des Princes, unless there is an incredible combination of positive results in the other matches of the evening.
Note that five other teams are stationed three points or less from PSG and can therefore also hope to overtake the capital club on the last day (Inter Milan, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Qarabag). In other words, Luis Enrique’s men will have every interest in winning to make their task easier!
