Laurent Blanc, the manager of Olympique Lyon, has explained why Paris Saint-Germain has had trouble since their Champions League round-of-16 exit.
By handing PSG their second straight home loss in Ligue 1 on Sunday, Blanc, who led PSG from 2013 to 2016, added insult to injury.
The loss to Lyon brings PSG’s total number of losses in the French top division to five, as their season is still in trouble.
Trying to make sense out of the Parisians’ sudden slump of form, especially since the turn of the year, Blanc intimated the club turns to lose focus when they miss out on their Champions League ambitions.
“The problem with Paris [PSG] is that when the number 1 objective is no longer accessible, it seems that the season no longer exists,” he said as quoted by PSG Report.
Blanc continued: “If the UEFA Champions League continues, everything is fine.
The Champions League stops, then everything stops and everything is over.
It’s difficult to remobilize.”
PSG’s Champions League collapse
The Parisians have craved Europe’s premier club competition since the takeover by Qatar Sports Investment in 2011.
However, winning the big-eared trophy has proved extremely elusive despite the massive cash injection into revamping the squad, per Sporting News.
The 2019–20 season saw PSG reach the Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in Lisbon.
That was the closest PSG has ever came to winning the competition.
PSG stumble to another Ligue 1 setback
Sunday, April 2, saw Paris Saint-Germain lose at home for the second time in a row, falling 1-0 to Lyon, with their World Cup-winning superstar Lionel Messi being jeered by some fans, Sports Brief reported.
Bradley Barcola of Lyon handed PSG their most recent defeat at the Parc des Princes, two weeks after they lost 2-0 to Rennes at home.
The Parisians have lost five times in Ligue 1 this year, all in 2023, and Christophe Galtier’s team is now only six points ahead of Lens in second position and Marseille in third.