The squad should be challenging for Europe. Instead, they are drifting towards a relegation battle. T here has been a trend towards younger, or at least more progressive, managers in France of late, and largely to good effect. The football played by Will Still, Luka Elsner and Liam Rosenior is innovative, modern and genuinely thrilling to watch.
Older managers are also making their mark. The elephant in the room is Jorge Sampaoli at Rennes. After another defeat at the weekend, they are down to 16th. The cupboard was also hardly bare. But after their defeat in Monaco on Saturday — a scoreline that flatters the visitor — they have lost five straight games in all competitions, including an elimination from the Coupe de France at the hands of second-tier strugglers Troyes. They occupy the relegation playoff spot, despite the top-drawer arrivals of Fofana and Samba, both proven performers in the league who have been among the best in their positions in previous seasons.
Without proper wing-backs or a physical No9 who can lead the line on his own, the attack is disjointed and the defence is sloppy. They will need to work quickly. Rennes face Strasbourg , who are going from strength to strength, next weekend, before taking on Lille, with PSG and Lens awaiting them in early March. Sampaoli says he is hoping for more reinforcements in the window - the club has been linked with the Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi - but these decisions may not lie with the manager.
His predecessor was sacked as the club thought their expensively assembled squad should be challenging for Europe. If Sampaoli fails to right the ship, failure to reach Europe could soon be replaced by failure to stay in the division. Slowly but surely, things are coming good for Paris Saint-Germain. They were unplayable in the second half of their crucial win over Manchester City on Wednesday and continue to look more and more like the real deal.
With a fine left winger already in place in the form of Bradley Barcola, Luis Enrique says he will also use the Georgian through the middle, adding another tactical wrinkle and game-changing attacking option to his team.
