Heads down, Alimami Gory and Nouha Dicko left the Océane stadium in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) mulling over their missed match points one after the other in the money time (88th and 90th + 3). The two attackers who are discovering Ligue 1 this season at the ages of 29 and 33 – Gory (9 appearances, 1 start) and Dicko (8 appearances, no starts) – were very close to tipping the match in favor of Paris FC (0-0). “I blame myself,” sighs the first named for whom the story could have been beautiful in front of all his family, in his hometown.
If the Parisians had snatched victory in a match that they almost lost (two strikes on the uprights on each side and a missed penalty by the Ciel et Marine), the reading would necessarily have been different.
“It was open, we had a lot of opportunities to score, them too and especially with the penalty,” confirms Kevin Trapp, who started this Sunday afternoon. It can score on both sides, in the end it’s 0-0 and, of course, it’s a bit frustrating. We wanted to win, that’s what we came for, but at least we took a point which could be important. As usual, there are things to improve but I think today defensively we did a lot of good things. »
There was indeed improvement compared to the football mush offered last week against Auxerre (1-1). With a reassuring goalkeeper and diligent defense – even if Mbow caused the penalty after an error – the Parisians managed their third clean sheet of the season in the Normandy rain after Lorient (2-0) and Monaco (1-0). But despite everything, we did not find the team capable of winning in the principality on November 1 (last success) or capable of standing up to the big players in the championship, offering a reassembled spectacular against Olympique Lyonnais (3-3) or narrowly losing to Lens (2-1) and Lille (4-2).
A “collective mastery” rediscovered, according to the Parisian coach
“I want to be positive,” insists Stéphane Gilli. There is improvement compared to Auxerre, we showed that it was an accident. We don’t concede a goal and we have regained collective control. In the end, we had several situations. We’re going to repeat ourselves but we’re not killer enough. »
Moses Simon and Jean-Philippe Krasso disappointed again while Ilan Kebbal was a notch below his usual performances. Like his team which, overall, struggled to regain the enthusiasm that characterized it during the first thirteen days.
“Against teams like us, these are different matches because it’s well closed, they defend well, it’s not so easy,” explains Kevin Trapp. It’s never easy to play matches like that. You shouldn’t think too much either because we do a lot of good things. Today, we can score two, three goals and if we score them we don’t talk about that. We have to focus on ourselves, on the good things and on the things we need to improve. »
With this draw, Paris FC remains in danger in 13th place with only four points ahead of Auxerre, now 16th, and five ahead of Nantes and Metz, respectively 17th and 18th in the Ligue 1 standings. “If we are there, it’s because it’s our level,” believes Stéphane Gilli. The Toulouse match (next Saturday) will be very important. If we take three points, we will have 19 and our results will be correct. This match will inevitably change the way we read and look at the start of the season…”
This last meeting of the year 2025 at the Jean-Bouin stadium must indeed turn to the advantage of the Parisians, otherwise they will spend the end-of-year celebrations with a preoccupied mind. “We want to win in front of our supporters,” insists Kevin Trapp. It’s important, we have a week to prepare it and it would be good before the break. »
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