Preview: Paris Saint-Germain vs Brest,Champions League Knockout Round Playoffs 2nd Leg
- FIy999 2025/02/18 05:41
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Paris Saint-Germain welcome Brest to the Parc des Princes in what should be a formality in the second leg of their knockout playoff tie in the Champions League on Wednesday.
preview
In the first all-French Champions League tie since Lyon beat Bordeaux 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the 2009-10 season, there has already proven to be a much bigger gap between the sides in this tie.
Vitinha's early penalty and a double from the in-form Ousmane Dembele sealed an impressive 3-0 win for the French champions, who showed exactly why they have been the most consistent team in Europe over the past three months.
Having progressed from 17 of their last 18 European ties when winning the first leg, Opta give PSG a 99% chance of advancing to the last 16, where either Liverpool or Barcelona await - the top two clubs from the league phase.
The PSG faithful will hope that the team knuckles down and still takes the game seriously though, as they could move another step closer to breaking the French record for the longest unbeaten run against a single opponent.
PSG have not suffered defeat in any of the last 31 meetings with Brest, dating back to a Ligue 1 loss in January 1985, and the record currently stands at 34, held by Monaco over Montpellier between 1995 and 2018.
This fixture also provides Enrique's men with the opportunity to beat Brest for the fourth time this season, something they have not managed against a single opponent since they inflicted four defeats on Monaco during the 2017-18 campaign.
Confidence will be running through the veins of every PSG player at present, because a 1-0 victory over Toulouse at the weekend, despite some personnel changes, means they are now unbeaten in 18 matches, winning 15 of the last 16 in all competitions.
For Brest, this looks like being the end of a once-in-a-lifetime experience for their loyal supporters, because no team has ever advanced after losing a home leg by three or more goals in the competition's history.
Their record against PSG offers even less encouragement too, considering they have not won at the Parc des Princes in 18 attempts, last tasting success here in 1981, and knowing they need at least three goals to have a chance, Brest have never scored more than two at this venue in their history.
After an electric start to their debut Champions League campaign, the wheels have fallen off for Eric Roy's men, who have lost four of their last five matches in this competition.
The 3-0 defeat in the first leg also saw them lose a third straight home match for the first time in almost 12 years, and even though they ended that streak at the weekend, they could not prepare for this one with a win, drawing 2-2 at home to Auxerre.
However, there is still belief the Pirates could return to the European stage again next season, in a lower capacity, with just one defeat in six Ligue 1 games leaving them one point shy of the top seven.
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