It was supposed to be the apotheosis of a triumphant season, but it was a collective shipwreck. Facing Chelsea in the Club World Cup final , Paris Saint-Germain sank with a crash (3-0), overtaken in all areas of the game by an inspired and ruthless Blues. From the first minutes, the Parisians suffered the physical impact and the frenetic pace imposed by the English. Cole Palmer, unstoppable, struck twice (22nd, 29th) before Joao Pedro drove the nail in a little further just before half-time (44th). Caught cold, tactically stifled, Luis Enrique 's men appeared disoriented, frustrated and without a solution in the face of the opposing intensity.
The second half failed to reverse the trend, despite a timid response from a lively Dembélé and a decisive Donnarumma. Chelsea managed their lead with skill while Paris lost lucidity, energy... and composure. A symbol of palpable tension on the pitch, Joao Neves saw red at the end of the match (85th), punishing a PSG at the end of its tether. And in the shadow of a trophy that was slipping away, frustration boiled over: angry gestures, verbal spats, attitudes betraying a group vexed to have seen its world cup dream collapse without fully fighting. The defeat, beyond the score, left its mark.
Several hot episodes
Frustrated by the match's scenario and jostled by the intensity, several Parisian players finally broke down, giving rise to a series of scuffles that were as unexpected as they were revealing of a deep malaise. The most notable incident occurred at the end of the match, when Joao Neves, already feverish, violently picked up Marc Cucurella who had remained on the ground, before pulling his hair in front of the referee a few minutes later during another action. Whether provocation or simulation by the Spaniard, Neves's attitude earned him a direct red card (85th) and lit the fuse in an electric end to the match. Earlier, in the first half, Achraf Hakimi had also gotten heated with Enzo Fernandez after a rough duel in midfield, exchanging a few pointed words and a scuffle quickly interrupted by the referee. But it was at the final whistle that the tension reached its peak. As the Chelsea players cheered, Luis Enrique, furious at Joao Pedro's provocative attitude, was seen slapping him sharply before being quickly removed by members of his staff and Presnel Kimpembe. A surreal scene, captured on camera, which highlighted the Spanish coach's nervousness.
At the same time, Gianluigi Donnarumma, beside himself, seemed ready to fight before being calmed in extremis by London coach Enzo Maresca, who came to play the firefighter on duty. A tense end to the match, symptomatic of a PSG overwhelmed by the event, where frustration was expressed as much by gestures as by the dark looks exchanged on the pitch. Luis Enrique immediately lamented his loss of composure against João Pedro. Shortly after the fight with the Chelsea players, the PSG coach explained to his assistants what had happened with the English club's Brazilian striker, filmed by DAZN cameras reading the Spanish coach's lips: "I'm stupid. He's there, he pushes me, I touch him and he throws himself ." Later in a press conference, he said: " What happened at the end of the match was a situation that everyone could have avoided. I tried to separate the players; there was tension. We should all have prevented the situation from escalating. I have no problem speaking out. After the match, there was a lot of tension. Everyone was pushing the players because of the tension. I saw Maresca pushing some players, and others pushing him. These are situations we should all avoid. So I separated the players ." Whether Luis Enrique will be heavily sanctioned or not remains to be seen .
0 Comments