Back from suspension this Saturday in Nice, Marco Verratti will return there. This Wednesday, the Italian received a firm match and another suspended. The PSG midfielder will therefore only miss the reception of Bordeaux (March 13). Given the scales in force, “Little Owl” was sanctioned with leniency by the LFP Disciplinary Committee.
After the defeat in Nantes (3-1) on February 19, the native of Pescara had notably said on Canal +: “On the penalty (fault of Appiah already warned), it is normally yellow so it is red. Referees need to take responsibility. There, we got pissed off by the referees! The National Ethics Council, which has become quite rare, took up the case and forwarded its conclusions to the LFP’s Disciplinary Committee. In front of it, the player presented himself in the company of Victoriano Melero, general secretary of the club. Recruited in 2012 by Leonardo, already sports director during a first visit to the capital, the Italian speaks perfect French. He was therefore able to defend himself for almost half an hour.
In the meantime, he will be, except for a last minute glitch, on the lawn of the Allianz Riviera this Saturday then in Madrid on March 9 for the knockout round of the Champions League. With quarter-finals scheduled for April 12 and 13, the torchbearer, sometimes installed as a sentry, will have the opportunity beforehand to find some rhythm. Without him, only for Ligue 1 matches therefore, PSG has staff but not always the solution. Against Saint-Étienne, 19th in the championship, it passed, not without certain difficulties (success 3-1). Neymar touched a significant number of balls, probably more than usual. The Brazilian becomes the main playmaker even if Leo Messi or Kylian Mbappé obviously know how to do everything.
It is especially in midfield that the difficulties appear. They are due to two almost insoluble equations. First, the 2021 European champion is one of the strongest in the world in his position and has no equivalent within the workforce. Finally, his natural replacement, Georginio Wijnaldum, is not adapting to his new team for the moment, going through the Parisian season and the matches with the shadow that follow the ghosts. In this sector, however, he is one of the few to possess this technical quality which allows a clean first raise, to find intervals and to show a volume greater than the average. In any case, this is what he still achieves with the Netherlands but not in Paris.
Danilo Pereira, Leandro Paredes or Gana Gueye, the other regular starters in the middle (which Ander Herrera is not) are distinguished by other qualities when they are good, which is not always the case. Apart from Verratti, they all lack consistency and regularity. Once once more, Paris will therefore have to rely on their attacking talent without Verratti. Breakage will be limited. Especially since the formation of Mauricio Pochettino still has a fifteen point lead over his runner-up.
