Paris Saint-Germain Failing to Right Old Problems Is Not Solely Down to Blanc

On Sunday night, for the third game in a row, Paris Saint-Germain threw away a one-goal lead and disappointingly ended the game with only a point despite their early domination of the first half.

Coach Laurent Blanc deserves elements of the criticism, but he is too easy a target to blame for all the team’s failings, though the sword will ultimately fall on his neck, but the players also have to take responsibility for the poor performances.

It may have happened in the last three games, but this is not a new problem for Paris Saint-Germain, it is not even a failing that has only occurred during Blanc’s tenure. Carlo Ancelotti struggled with consistency for the one season he was in charge and there is an argument that it has actually improved since the Italian left the club.

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6 - Only Reims have lost more points from winning positions (8) than PSG (6) in Ligue 1 this season. Awkward.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) September 21, 2014"

The pattern is there to see. With a superior squad to the majority of the other Ligue 1 sides, the Parisians more often than not start the game strongly, they take the lead with a sustained period of pressure and then they take their foot off the gas.

Against teams like Rennes, Ajax and Sunday’s opponents, Olympique Lyonnais, there is enough quality in the opposition to cause the PSG defence problems, and they will always create at least one opportunity to find a way back into the game.

The last three games have shown that the opposition don’t even have to be a better footballing team, or dominate for long spells, they just need a single chance.

Rennes was lucky that Paul-Georges Ntep’s pass took a slight touch off left-back Maxwell before bamboozling Salvatore Sirigu. Ajax relied on an excellent free-kick from Dane Lasse Schone and it was after a penalty-box scramble that Samuel Umtiti smashed home Lyon’s equaliser.

None of the three sides really outplayed PSG before the scores were levelled, but all three had chances to win the game once the deficit was reduced.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

How the team starts is the responsibility of Blanc. He sets out his tactics and hopefully sends the team out in a positive manner. Against Lyon he made some bold changes. Both full-backs Lucas Digne and Serge Aurier were brought in and asked to attack at will.

Yohan Cabaye came in for Thiago Motta to give the midfield a more attacking style and Ezequiel Lavezzi played on the left wing, his first start of the season.

You cannot say, definitely not for this game, that Blanc didn’t at least try to adapt his team's play. It worked well at least for around the first 25 minutes. PSG took the lead through Edinson Cavani after 20 minutes, the cross from Digne was early and pinpoint accurate, and it looked like it could be a long night for the visitors.

However, then PSG turned down the afterburners and cruised along in second gear. It was obvious to see that they believed they have already done enough for the three points. The emphasis on attacking was gone and Lyon began to come back into the game.

Lyon coach Hubert Fournier will gain a lot of credit for his side’s performance. The way they kept ground with the champions and always gave themselves a chance, but it’s a chance they should never have had.

Paris Saint-Germain, like any other great side, should have smelt the blood in the water and went for the kill. Two goals down away in Paris would be enough for most teams to mentally call it a day.

But when you are playing a side that has been pegged back in their last two matches, when you are only one goal down, you know you will get that one chance.

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

Any sort of loss of momentum during the first half is hard to blame on Blanc. There is only so much he can do from the sidelines. At this stage he is not going to make any substitutions, it is up to the players on the field to be mindful of the situation, be aware of an obvious issue in the squad’s mentality and for the experienced players to rally the troops.

Blanc would be looking towards Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cabaye, Blaise Matuidi and David Luiz to stop the malaise and make sure the tempo and effort was either kept, or returned to match what they showed in the first 20 minutes.

At half-time, Blanc will again have the chance to get his thoughts across and have a few stern words, but when the players are on the pitch, they have to be accountable for their actions.

The huge problem for Blanc is that it is much easier to change a coach than it is to change a starting XI. First and foremost it is his neck on the line and he must carry that burden. It is definitely not all his fault, but it is up to him to take the motivational kick and apply it to his superstar’s derriere.

The former France coach has certainly not helped his cause by making similar like-for-like changes. He has failed to switch up the system when it’s not working, or by making one or two bold substitutions.

Blanc’s problem is that the players he is sending out are good enough for the job and should be in a stronger position than a single-goal lead. He shouldn’t have to make as many bold changes as is currently needed, but now is not the time to be conservative.

At the current stage of the season, and with a lack of realistic options to take his place, Blanc’s job is safe. That always means he has time to either fix the problem and address issues of motivation and effort or he can take the current path and all but guarantee his is out of a job as soon as someone viable is available.

The players more than anyone are to blame for a large part of PSG’s problems, but the buck stops at Blanc. He needs to act now if he is to turn the Parisians into Champions League contenders, otherwise he will be heading for the chop sooner rather than later.