It’s all come down to the wire for PSG. Can they get it done?
PSG have really left it to the last minute as they look to successfully defend their title. On Sunday, Les Parisiens will take on Brest in a must-win game for Mauricio Pochettino’s men. At this point, the reigning champs sit in second spot, on 79 points. League leaders Lille still hold a slim advantage, one point clear at the summit on 80 points.
Like PSG, Brest also must win this game. Les Pirates presently sit in 16th spot, and are among a crop of sides desperately fighting to avoid sliding into 18th. Right now, Nantes are the unlucky team to occupy the last relegation place, but that can easily change should they beat Montpellier. In total, there are six teams who will all be fighting tooth and nail to avoid the dreaded drop to Ligue 2 next season, and one can certainly bet that Brest will do everything they humanly can to ensure they won’t be among them. Pulling off an outright upset isn’t likely, but a draw certainly is feasible. That being said, they’ll hope that others, including Nantes, who have suddenly found form, don’t win their games and end up pushing them down into 18th spot.
As for Les Parisiens, Pochettino picked up his second trophy recently, as PSG beat Monaco in the Coupe de France. Adding the Ligue 1 title would at least be some further redemption for PSG’s failure to make inroads in this year’s Champions League. A year after making it to their first ever final, there will be no repeat of that feat after Manchester City, who will be featuring in their own first ever final, knocked them out in the semi’s. The visitors come into this match having won four of their last five Ligue 1 games, with the only blemish being a 1-1 draw with Rennes, and Pochettino will hope that everyone will behave themselves to avoid anyone being sent off this time around.
The reverse fixture saw PSG cruised to a 3-0 win over Brest and they’ve won the last three road wins. That being said, whatever happens here won’t matter if Lille beat Angers. Indeed, even if Les Parisiens beat Brest 12-0, and Lille squeak to a 1-0 win over Angers, Les Dogues will win their first Ligue 1 title in a decade. In short, for the first time in many seasons, PSG’s fate isn’t even in their hands, and it’s something that must frighten the team and their fans.
It’s fascinating: both Brest and PSG will need others to do them a big favor to achieve their objectives. One team needs others to slip up to make sure they don’t get sent down to 18th and have to contest a relegation-promotion play-off, while the other will need another to beat the team who’s on the cusp of snatching their domestic crown.
Will PSG’s reign as champions of France end this Sunday, even if they win against Brest? We’ll just have to wait and see as all 20 teams prepare to take to the pitch in what will be a very entertaining final day of the 2020/2021 Ligue 1 season.
