PSG

There is a team in Ligue 1 who play glorious, free-flowing, attacking football. But it's not PSG.

PSG dominated the tie for 150 minutes before Benzema forced their latest capitulation, but their lack of inspiration during the first leg and a keenness to counterattack in the second underlined Pochettino’s shortcomings. Stéphane Moulin kept the club up for several seasons by playing pragmatic football but earlier this season it looked as if new coach Gérald Baticle had taken the team forward with a more dynamic style. Angers’ 1-0 defeat to Reims was their seventh in a row and their 10th in 12 games. In just a few short weeks, the hope that Ligue 1 sides would make some headway has morphed into the usual frustration. This week has summed up PSG under Pochettino. As the Bordeaux game again showed, their resources and deep squad allow them to breeze past many Ligue 1 sides, especially at home. That action proved simple but dramatic on Sunday. Throughout their team’s 3-0 win over a woeful Bordeaux, the crowd at the Parc des Princes roundly booed and whistled Messi and Neymar. As the two forwards stood over a free-kick in the first half, the din intensified and was followed by ironic cheers when Neymar fired over. This PSG team may not have turned out as expected, but French football has still got what it wanted, albeit from a different source. And striker Gaëtan Laborde’s clinical finishing, keenness to play off others and physicality adds the strength that teams as balletic as Rennes often lack. The Collectif Ultras Paris, a leading PSG fan group, has had enough. They may have the world’s most talented attacking trio, but the Mauricio Pochettino team is the least attractive PSG side of the Qatari era. The desperation with which PSG chase their European holy grail only makes Madrid’s comeback all the more embarrassing. Even with Messi onboard, a full-strength PSG – injuries have hindered them before – could not break the cycle.