Brest, third in Ligue 1, is no coincidence. The surprise team of the season, led by Eric Roy, tied the match on Sunday January 28 at the Parc des Princes with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), leader of the championship, to finally secure a nice draw at the end of the the 19th day (2-2).
After having purred a good part of the first half, the Parisians thought of knocking out Brest in a few minutes with two lightning strikes. First a magic ladle from Bradley Barcola – coach Luis Enrique’s favorite for several matches – to Marco Asensio, who was quick to send his rebound into the small net of another Marco, Bizot (1 -0, 38th). Then, just before the break, Asensio was talked about again: his shot pushed back from point blank range offered Randal Kolo Muani the opportunity for a duel won with mischief and “grinta” against Bradley Locko (2-0, 45th) .
As in the first leg in Brest (difficult 3-2 victory for the Parisians), the Bretons returned to the fight after the break, scoring quickly on an own goal from Danilo Pereira. The Portuguese deflected a point-blank shot from Mahdi Camara into the cages, after a raid in the area by Romain Del Castillo (1-2, 55th). Eric Roy produced a winning coaching performance since the next goal came from two inbound players. Martin Satriano sent a simple and precise cross for Mathias Pereira Lage who backheeled by cutting at the near post (2-2, 80th).
An evening to forget for Mbappé
The Parisians tried to force the decision but came up against well-grouped and attentive Bretons. And it was the latter who had the last opportunity by obtaining a free kick – unsuccessful – and in passing the exclusion of Barcola, who left the pitch with his head bowed while the Parisian supporters chanted his name.
The unprecedented attack aligned by Luis Enrique, with in addition the hybrid Marco Asensio, Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani, offered some satisfaction. But it also showed the limits of the coach’s incessant experiments, less than three weeks before the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League, with the reception of Real Sociedad on February 14.
Kylian Mbappé, in particular, missed a lot, in a tight angle on the left (9th), on a low cross from Kolo Muani (13th), hitting from afar while forgetting Asensio (40th), missing the target from the inside the area (67th) or even seeing his shot blocked (87th). An evening to forget for the captain of the Blues, who has still not announced his decision on a possible departure this summer.
In the standings, PSG, 44 points, sees its first pursuer Nice, winner on Saturday in Metz (1-0), return to 6 points. The beautiful story of Little Thumb from Brest continues. The Finisterians will have put the Parisian ogre in difficulty both on the outward and return journey. They can now qualify for European qualification… and rather the Champions League than the Europa League.