Scenes of joy worthy of the most beautiful victories. Proof, if any were needed, that this PSG is still “hungry” and that it intends to continue to swallow up everything in its path. This Thursday in Kuwait City, we believed that the European champions would give in against Marseille, that their favorite rival would give them a face as they did on September 22 (1-0, Ligue 1) at the Vélodrome stadium, but that was without counting on this resilience, this sense of sacrifice that we now know by heart and which allowed them to turn the tables on a goal from the “supersub” Gonçalo Ramos… before a new penalty shootout. victorious.
“It was very hot. I must say that we started OK but OM played very well, they deserved to be in the match. I think they played better than us, admitted Luis Enrique at the Ligue 1 + microphone. I have to congratulate De Zerbi, who everyone criticizes but who is a very good coach. »
Asphyxiated in the middle
Present at every loss of the ball, diligent to cut off the opposing passing lines, Geoffrey Kondogbia’s teammates long believed they could win, but the end of the match and a missed penalty shootout finally got the better of their enormous commitment. “The defeat hurts,” said De Zerbi, who could not contain his tears in the locker room. We had a great match. What saddens me is that we wanted to write OM history by winning a trophy. This is the type of performance that we must repeat, being consistent and giving 100%.”
Because in the commitment and energy deployed, the Marseillais had everything right, preventing Désiré Doué from expressing himself on his right wing, while concentrating their efforts on pressing to keep a high block. Their only fault is not having known sooner that they would come across an immense Lucas Chevalier who, even by conceding a penalty on Mason Greenwood, will have disgusted them to the point of taking out the penalties of O’Riley and Traoré. The Parisian goalkeeper was put to the test, forced to compensate for the lack of control of his team, although well secured by the excellent Pacho, still enormous, despite a goal scored against his camp.
“It’s good to have teams that resist us, it makes us grow”
Paris must now learn the lessons of this success, both spectacular and sluggish, during which it seemed to struggle in the physical effort even though Luis Enrique had nevertheless announced that his players had recovered well during the end-of-year holidays. “It was hard, we have to value our opponents. We knew it was going to be a difficult match. For us, it’s also good to have teams that resist us, it makes us grow, puts us in difficulty, assures captain Marquinhos. This is the time of the season when you have to perform well, be decisive with a trophy, the Champions League coming up. We will prepare to play a better match in a month (for the reunion in Ligue 1 at the Parc des Princes, February 8, Editor’s note) and win quietly. We have a very demanding coach and he will give us things to improve. »
The main lesson that Luis Enrique will not fail to remind his players is the commitment necessary to compete with a high-level opponent. Without commitment, there is not much to hope for. It was with an impeccable state of mind that Paris won everything in 2025. This will be the key to staying on top in 2026, facing well-prepared opponents, who have had time to dissect the Parisian game and who now know how to master this beautiful mechanism. “We must never relax, we can always go for more,” concludes Marquinhos before leaving Kuwait. A course of action to absolutely keep to remain the best team in the world while each opponent dreams of bringing you down. Paris has been warned. He can’t let his guard down!
