And the capital club capitulated. PSG suffered a slap in the face this Monday evening at the Parc des Princes by being knocked out in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France by their neighbor Paris FC, author of a real feat (1-0).
The European champion, a formidable score-recovery machine, capable of overturning the craziest scenarios, fell against a team fighting for its survival in Ligue 1, and it is a big setback, frankly unexpected, a real surprise, in this season which will therefore already be less good on an accounting level with a title which has already eluded it, from the month of January.
Le show Nkambadio
This time, there was no miracle and as a sign of destiny, it was a veteran of the red and blue house, Jonathan Ikoné, already decisive in the previous round, who brought down PSG. Enough, perhaps, to lay the foundations for a rivalry between the two neighboring clubs.
It felt like one of those autumn evenings in 2024 during which the Parisians dominated, pushed, but never managed to find the fault. Initially, Luis Enrique’s men did not give the impression of wanting to bend the current affairs and offer themselves an easy game. However, this would not have done any harm to a PSG which has been purring more than usual in recent times, which appears a little less sovereign against its local rivals, notably revealing a lack of speed in the game.
Dominant, the European champions should have led at the break, but the three offensive players came up against a formidable Nkambadio, ultra decisive if not academic in his saves. Barcola (22nd, 25th), Ramos (23rd) or even Kvaratskhelia (45 + 1) lacked conviction in their last gesture and were not able to place a Parisian team that was too technically imprecise.
The PFC goalkeeper’s show continued in the second period by diverting the attempts of Ramos (55th), Zaire-Emery (61st) and Vitinha (90 + 7), when Barcola completely missed his face-to-face (64th). The absence of Nuno Mendes, replaced by Willian Pacho, with a much more defensive profile, in his left lane, was felt to bring a little madness.
While the start of 2025 had marked a rise in power on the part of Vitinha’s partners, this month of January marks a real break and for the moment reveals a lack of physical freshness, particularly in the middle. The PFC could also have taken advantage of the spaces offered by the midfield trio, but neither Gory (13th, 22nd) nor Cafaro managed to deceive Lucas Chevalier who had been preferred to Renato Marin to occupy the goal.
Ramos holder and mute
In this overloaded schedule, Luis Enrique had no other choice than to call on the usual understudies, but they “honored” their status and did not deliver a performance capable of upsetting the hierarchy. The young Senny Mayulu confirmed his current difficulties, while he was playing in his preferred zone, while Gonçalo Ramos once again showed that his “supersub” costume highlighted him more than that of the holder.
In a deadlock, the Asturian was forced to call on the executives, Ousmane Dembélé, Nuno Mendes and Désiré Doué to try to make the difference, by bringing them in after the hour mark. It was ultimately two other entrants, Ilan Kebbal, just returned from the CAN, and Jonathan Ikoné who took charge of air conditioning the Park by opening the score as the last quarter of an hour approached (74th). Paris tried, pushed, looked for its second wind and hoped to get back on track. The magic did not work, the fault of an imperial Nkambadio. Yes, this PSG version of Luis Enrique is human and for the first time since January 31, 2022, he fell at home at the Parc des Princes in the Coupe de France. This Monday evening, it was Paris FC who were magical.
