We caught up with a Paris Saint-Germain fan ahead of tonight's Champions League game at the Parc de Princes to find out their thoughts on the tie.
Newcastle United are in Paris to take on PSG tonight at 8pm in the Champions League. Paris Saint-Germain will be looking for revenge after they were taught a lesson at St James' Park while Newcastle will be hoping to pick up points to stay alive in the group.
We asked Ed from PSG Talk a few questions going into the game about how he sees the Group of Death and he gives us his thoughts on the 4-1 drubbing at St James' Park.
I think it was a combination of things that went wrong for PSG in that first leg. The most egregious was Luis Enrique starting four attack-minded players and leaving the midfield wide open. It was a tactic that backfired almost immediately after the opening whistle. The other thing that went wrong was something PSG didn't have a lot of control over, and that was the atmosphere. I was watching the match on television, and there was a different, louder sound coming out than I'd heard in any other match. If it was a noticeable difference for me, I could only imagine what it felt like inside St. James' Park that night. Keep in mind, this is a relatively rebuilt starting XI for PSG with a 17-year-old starting in midfield. I think the atmosphere 100% played a role in PSG's poor performance.
Besides the very real possibility of dropping to the Europa League, I've very much enjoyed the Group of Death. I like that there's so much on the line with every match, and teams can't take a night off. The venues are spectacular as well. The San Siro, the Parc des Princes, Signal Iduna Park, are iconic stadiums with some of the best supporters in Europe. I've been most impressed by St. James' Park, though. As I mentioned earlier, you all impacted that match against PSG. The Newcastle players fed off the noise, and PSG absolutely crumbled under the pressure.
He's done it before as a manager, so he has the credentials and knowledge of what it takes. The question is, does PSG have the squad to compete? I think they're close, but there are some glaring holes that no manager can cover up. The defence is slow and mistake-prone, and the midfield needs some creativity. More than anything, this team needs time to get used to playing together. The only way I think Luis Enrique can take PSG all the way this season is if Kylian Mbappé carries him there.
I've always thought positively about Newcastle. Great fans, great stadium, history, the club has it all. I do think the club needs to bring back the Newcastle Brown Ale sponsorship, though. I think when the new ownership came in, people thought Newcastle would go full PSG, buy ageing superstar players, and try to win quickly. Instead, Newcastle has gone about their sporting project in an intelligent way by building a team with a nice mix of youth and experience.
I would have to go with Bruno Guimarães. I mentioned earlier that we need another midfielder, and he would fit in nicely. He dominated PSG's midfield, and I like how versatile he is. He can put in a crunching tackle just as well as he can pick out a pass to spring the attack. We also need another defender, and I've always been a fan of Sven Botman since his time at Lille, so if I can have two players, I would take these two.
PSG are very good at the Parc des Princes. Most of our devastating losses in the Champions League have come away from the French capital, so I like our chances to get the win, but it's not going to be easy. There are two matches left in the group stage, and everyone is battling to advance. Let's go 2-1 to PSG, with Mbappé scoring a brace.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
12 | 16 | 31 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
12 | 5 | 23 |
3 |
Chelsea
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
4 |
Arsenal
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
5 |
Brighton
|
12 | 5 | 22 |
6 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
12 | 14 | 19 |
7 |
Nottingham Forest
|
12 | 2 | 19 |
8 |
Aston Villa
|
12 | 0 | 19 |
9 |
Fulham
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
10 |
Newcastle United
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
11 |
Brentford
|
12 | 0 | 17 |
12 |
Manchester United
|
12 | 0 | 16 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
12 | -1 | 15 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
12 | -4 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
12 | -7 | 11 |
16 |
Leicester
|
12 | -8 | 10 |
17 |
Wolves
|
12 | -8 | 9 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
12 | -10 | 9 |
19 |
Crystal Palace
|
12 | -7 | 8 |
20 |
Southampton
|
12 | -15 | 4 |