Despite an encouraging second half, Paris Saint-Germain lost (0-2) Tuesday on Arsenal’s pitch during the second day of the Champions League. This is the first defeat of the season for the Parisian club which will perhaps regret not having included Ousmane Dembélé in its ranks.
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We almost saw this first setback of the season coming, in all competitions for PSG. Despite an almost flawless performance in Ligue 1, with five victories in six days, the Parisians, lucky on the first day of C1 in front of Girona (1-0)saw adversity escalate a notch. And when you show up at the Emirates without one of its best players since the start of the season, in this case Ousmane Dembélé, the chances of an exploit inevitably diminish. Tuesday, the absentee was right, and the motivations of coach Luis Enrique to voluntarily do without his number one asset (or two) will certainly liven up the debates in the coming days. Because PSG would have really needed a right side that works and brings danger when Barcola’s left is muzzled as rarely this season.
Donnarumma, losing return
But against Arsenal, the Parisians would have needed much more, especially a safer goalkeeper than Gianluigi Donnarumma, far from being impeccable on the two English goals. The Italian goalkeeper, who was returning from injury after an absence of three matches, was at fault for Kai Havertz’s opener by missing his exit on the head of the German striker (20th).
Arsenal, who controlled the start of the match without being dangerous, did not ask for it. A quarter of an hour later, Bukayo Saka on an off-center free kick doubled the lead after seeing his shot pass past several players and end up in the goals of Donnarumma who still seems to be missing the action (35th). Paris is KO and its rare “dangerous” actions are only initiated by the full-backs Nuno Mendez and Ashraf Hakimi.
Luis Enrique’s men tried to revolt during a second period which they dominated after the entries of Fabian Ruiz and Kolo Muani. Neves, from a corner, found Raya’s crossbar, and the Parisians could have benefited from a penalty after a handball in the area by defender Riccardo Calafiori.
It’s a defeat which puts PSG in an almost uncomfortable position when we know that the Parisians will successively come across PSV Eindhoven, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Salzburg, Manchester City and Stuttgart on their way to qualification. This time, it will certainly be with Ousmane Dembélé….
Barça, Dortmund, City, and Inter mercilessly
This second day was rich in goals and the favorites were merciless against their opponents. FC Barcelona, defeated at the opening of the Champions League in Monaco, revived by making short work of the weak Young Boys team from Berne at home (5-0). Inter Milan dominated Red Star Belgrade 4-0, Manchester City also won by the same score in Bratislava. The card of the day goes to Dortmund who annihilated Celtic (7-1). For its part, Bayer Leverkusen won against AC Milan (1-0) in the second shock of the evening.
The program and results of the second day
Tuesday October 1
RB Salzburg-Brest 0-4
Stuttgart-Sparta Prague 1-1
Arsenal-PSG 2-0
Bayer Leverkusen-AC Milan 1-0
Borussia Dortmund-Celtic Glasgow 7-1
Slovan Bratislava-Manchester City 0-4
FC Barcelona-Young Boys Bern 5-0
Inter Milan-Red Star Belgrade 4-0
PSV Eindhoven-Sporting Portugal 1-1
Wednesday October 2 (UT time)
4:45 p.m.: Shakhtar Donetsk-Atalanta Bergamo
4:45 p.m.: Girona-Feyenoord Rotterdam
7 p.m.: Lille-Real Madrid
7 p.m.: Dinamo Zagreb-Monaco
7 p.m.: Aston Villa-Bayern Munich
7 p.m.: Benfica-Atlético Madrid
7 p.m.: Liverpool-Bologna
7 p.m.: RB Leipzig-Juventus Turin
7 p.m.: Sturm Graz-Bruges