PSG's Champions League Hopes Depend on Guarding Against Ligue 1 Complacency

AS Monaco’s 2-0 win away at Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday was the first time Les Parisiens have been beaten at their Parc des Princes home in Ligue 1 for nearly two years.

Second-half goals from Vagner Love and Fabinho ensured that Leonardo Jardim’s men picked up three precious points in their battle to secure second place in Le Championnat and UEFA Champions League qualification at the end of the season.

Les Monegasques are now five points clear of Cote d’Azur rivals OGC Nice in third and 22 points behind already-crowned champions PSG.

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Stade Rennais were the last team to emerge from the French capital victorious in Ligue 1, winning 2-1 back in May 2014—also on a day when Laurent Blanc’s men had just been confirmed as kings of France.

However, you have to go even further back—to November 2011 to be precise—for the last time the capital outfit were beaten at home in Le Championnat without scoring a goal. AS Nancy were 1-0 winners that day.

Monaco’s victory also extended their impressive unbeaten run in Paris. The men from the principality have not tasted defeat in the league at Parc des Princes since February 2007.

PSG can perhaps be forgiven a little for their flat performance last weekend. With their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title already tied up and the first international break of 2016 approaching, there was little to motivate the champions against Monaco.

Home head coach Blanc admitted as much when speaking with reporters after the final whistle, and he admitted that his team lacked cutting edge:

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It's always tough to mobilise the players once you've reached your objective. The last time we lost at the Parc des Princes was against Rennes, when we knew before the match that we were the champions. I don't think this defeat came by accident. Still, our match wasn't as bad as all that. Our first half was good and we created chances. We just weren't effective enough. Monaco played very well, put us under the pump for about 15 minutes and managed to score. Bravo. The good thing for us tonight was not to pick up any injuries. Manchester City are just a fortnight away.

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Indeed the clash with Manuel Pellegrini’s men is fast approaching, and any more performances like the one against Monaco risk harming PSG’s chances of progression in the Champions League.

In order to be in perfect condition to take on Manchester City over two legs—and any potential continental adversaries after that—Les Parisiens must take their most challenging fixtures in Le Championnat seriously.

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With Monaco now a wasted opportunity, there are not too many difficult matches coming up for the six-time French champions between now and the end of the season.

Third-placed OGC Nice are the visitors to Parc des Princes just before the arrival of City, and that should provide Blanc and his players with a decent post-international test.

Aside from Les Aiglons, Caen (home), Girondins de Bordeaux (away), Rennes (home) and FC Nantes (home) are the most testing games—on paper at least—before the end of term. The visit of Rolland Courbis’ fifth-placed Rennes side is arguably the pick of that bunch, along with Nice.

Although winning their latest Ligue 1 title in record time has taken some pressure off as the business end of the season begins, the danger was always going to be that wrapping things up so early in the league would see PSG become complacent.

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Les Parisiens are now focusing their energies on the Champions League, the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue; so last Sunday’s loss to Monaco was not a total shock.

However, Blanc and his players cannot afford a repeat of the home defeat to Les Monegasques, so they must view the likes of Nice, Bordeaux and Rennes as vital preparation for the important domestic and continental cup matches that they still have left.

If PSG cannot prepare themselves properly for their two legs against Manchester City, then the English Premier League outfit could punish them—even with so many injuries currently piling up for Pellegrini’s men.