Paris Saint-Germain has the best attack on the planet – on paper. But Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe together on the pitch do not seem as powerful as their names suggest. In the midweek Champions League match against Manchester City, the fact that the Parisians do not have a game for the finals, let alone winning the Champions League, was exposed. The clash of the 15th round of Ligue 1 against Saint-Etienne, despite the triumph at Geoffroy Guichard Stadium, did not significantly improve the overall view of the team – 1-3.Two positive things for the club from the French capital came in the form of Messi’s hat-trick of assists and the debut of Sergio Ramos however both were somewhat overshadowed by Neymar’s serious injury at the end of the game. The Brazilian twisted his ankle, a painful grimace immediately appeared on his face, and a minute later he was taken off the pitch on a stretcher and it seems that 2021 is over for him.Mauricio Pochettino’s players struggled, they were the first to concede a goal, they equalized at the end of the half with the impression that the referees paved the way for them to a good extent. They equalized in final minutes of the first half, then they played the entire second half having a player more and only fifteen minutes before the end they managed to make an advantage, before they finished off the indisposed Saints in stoppage time.The controversial situation happened in the last minute of the first half. There is no doubt that Kolodziejczak committed a foul on Mbappe, but the big question is whether he deserved a direct red card. Referee Brisard Jerome estimated that the French defender was the last player of the defense, although at the moment of the tackle, the other defender of the Greens, Mickael Nade, was in the line. The referees in the VAR room did not intervene, and it was second’s later that Paris Saint-Germain equalized. Messi’s cross and Marquinhos’ perfect jump and shake of the head. He annulled the advantage that the Greens gained in the 25th minute thanks to Gabonese Denis Bouanga.Saint-Etienne seemed eager to score another, they looked like a team that has the strength to stop the first favorite for the title in France. Etienne Green was great between the goal posts for St. Etienne.One of the best players of the hosts, Tunisian Wahbi Khazri, tried in his style to endanger Donnarumma from mid-pitch as well as directly from the corner. The team was defensively organized even with a man less. At the same time, the Greens did not hesitate to move forward whenever they had the chance. Denis Bouanga threatened in the 63rd minute, while in the 69th minute on the other side of the pitch Green once again shone preventing Messi from scoring.However, the Argentine redeemed himself ten minutes later by assisting his colleague from the national team, and Angel Di Maria had all the time in the world to adjust and aim for the back of the net. He actually had a few seconds, but for a football player of his qualities, that is already too much.After the turnaround, Claude Puel’s team stopped believing in a miracle, hopes of winning points evaporated, and they were again struck by the Argentine-Brazilian connection in the ending minutes.Until yesterday – one assist by Messi in ten appearances for PSG in all competitions. Today in 90 minutes, three passes that preceded the goals of his teammates. Last week, a goal and an assist against Nantes. It seems that the owner of six Ballon d’Ors is finally waking up, even though he is far from the level he got us all used to while representing Barcelona.LIGUE 1 – ROUND 15FridayLens – Angers 2-2 (0-1)/Kakuta 48, Sotoca 55 – Boufal 40, Thomas 70/SaturdayLille – Nantes 1-1 (1-1)/Yilmaz 9 – Blas 24/Nice – Metz 0-1 (0-1)/Centonze 31/SundaySaint-Etienne – PSG 1-3 (1-1)/Bouanga 25 – Marquinhos 45+2, 90+1, Di Maria 79/17:00: (5.40) Lorient (3.70) Rennes (1.75)17:00: (1.75) Monaco (3.70) Strasbourg (5.40)17:00: (2.50) Reims (3.10) Clermont (3.25)17:00: (2.60) Bordeaux (3.30) Brest (2.90)19:00: (4.80) Montpellier (3.80) Olympique Lyon (1.80)22:45: (1.55) Olympique Marseille (4.30) Troyes (6.75)
