Paris Saint-Germain is used to insults in the Champions League and proved it again on Wednesday 2 November. Winner in Juventus Turin grass after a bitter battle (2-1), Paris Saint-Germain gave up first place in Group H to Benfica Lisbon, who at the same time beat Maccabi Haifa promoters (6-1). The criterion for choosing between the two tied teams at the top of the group? VIis the number of goals scored by the Portuguese club away from home.
“We knew about this possibility. But it may be unique, the first time it happens. (…) We often say that this competition is irrational, we live it tonight‘, Christophe Galtier smiled bitterly after the match against Juventus. So, is there a fate for something? Or can PSG blame itself for finding itself in this unprecedented situation, which almost deserves the biggest Parisian disappointment in C1 in recent seasons?
1 – This is the first time in the history of the Champions League that two teams finish top of their group with the same number of points, goals scored and goals conceded (14 points, 16 goals scored against 7 collected for Benfica and Paris). is unlikely. pic.twitter.com/UhPvgbz3M5
– OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 2, 2022
In fact, few of the two, because Benfica took advantage of the resignation of Maccabi’s defense to score two goals in the last five minutes of their match. But in fact, Paris Saint-Germain gradually fell from this first place, alone, like an adult. First, during the double confrontation against Benfica. In the first leg (1-1), on October 5, as in the return to the Parc des Princes on October 11 (1-1), Paris advanced against the Portuguese club. Before you stop playing and give up a tie.
It is not a matter of rewriting history but by beating Benfica at least once, which PSG had so many means to do, the capital club would not exist. Because in spite of everything, the Parisians made a good group stage, as Galtaire said on Wednesday evening: “I want to congratulate my team, the players and my team, we got 14 points and scored a lot of goalsParis even beat Juventus twice, becoming the first French club in history to win in Turin.
However, it is not enough to take first place in the group. With hindsight, the two encounters against Juventus also leave regrets. In the first leg, on September 6, Paris pretty much dominated the old lady and should have won by more than two goals to one. The biggest difficulty is to beat a very bad Juventus at the start of the season.
Benfica won Group H with goals scored away from home in the division #UCL pic.twitter.com/vCukf4TRBA
UEFA Champions League November 2, 2022
With just a handful of goals scored against Juventus, PSG would have counted on their preferred goal difference to finish ahead of Benfica in the standings. Paris and coach Christophe Galtier can also blame themselves for not achieving defensive stability with no clean sheets (zero goals conceded per match) during the group stage.
The victory over Maccabi Haifa in the first leg (3-1) on September 14, as well as in the second leg (7-2) on October 25, Paris may regret these three goals received by the Israeli club. But another aspect as well, raised in a press conference by Galtier on Wednesday after the Juventus match: “In the 7-2 lead last week, we stopped playing in the 90th minute. It’s also the details that count.“
In front of Maccabi, in the Parc des Princes, the referee has already decided the final whistle without extra time, while with four goals and ten changes in the second half, PSG should have benefited from at least four minutes. To score an eighth goal would have made sense today. By comparison, Benfica scored their sixth goal on Wednesday night in the fourth minute of extra time when they were already 5-1 ahead.
A large number of negative details that put Paris Saint-Germain in second place in their group. Therefore, Paris will tremble on November 7 in the draw for the round of 16 with the possibility of falling to a large part (Real Madrid, Manchester City, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Porto, Tottenham or Chelsea). Having been partially unlucky at the end of the group stage, the capital club are now hoping providence will help them through the remainder of the competition, starting in February.
