If PSG meets Man Utd now, they will also lose.

Man Utd can beat any opponent when they are lucky.

PSG - the reigning Champions League champions, French champions and considered the number one candidate for every title this season - are putting themselves in a difficult position because of an eternal disease: arrogance. They still have an expensive squad, still win when they are excited, but people are increasingly seeing a problem - PSG can no longer maintain focus, especially when facing "weaker" opponents.

PSG is inconsistent

The 3-3 draw at home to Strasbourg at Parc des Princes in the early morning of October 18 was the clearest proof. Coach Luis Enrique's team started smoothly with Bradley Barcola opening the score after only 6 minutes, but then let Strasbourg - a "phenomenon" of Ligue 1 this season - come back to lead 3-1. If not for two late equalizers from Goncalo Ramos (penalty) and Senny Mayulu, PSG would have even tasted their first defeat at home since April.

PSG almost lost to Strasbourg. Photo: Reuters.

It should be noted that Enrique rotated his squad, leaving out a number of key players such as Vitinha, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes and Kvaratskhelia, while Ousmane Dembele was injured. However, even without several stars, a team as dominant as PSG in Europe could not afford to be led 3-1 by Strasbourg - a team with a budget only one-tenth of theirs. Subjectivity, lack of determination and systematic mistakes in defense made PSG constantly make things difficult for themselves.

This is not the first time PSG have been poor in recent times. Before the draw with Strasbourg, they lost to Marseille and were held to a draw by Lille - winning just one of their last four Ligue 1 games. These signs of instability suggest that PSG are losing momentum, a common phenomenon in teams just reaching the peak of their fame.

Even PSG’s form against English teams is not something to be proud of. They were crushed 0-3 by Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final, and almost lost to Tottenham in the European Super Cup. Against teams with the high intensity, high pressing and tactical discipline of the Premier League, PSG often show clear weaknesses: the ability to control the ball under pressure and the fragility of transitional defense.

Man Utd just unlucky

Meanwhile, Manchester United, despite their shaky start, are an extremely unpredictable team. They can lose to a Fourth Division side in the Carabao Cup on a bad day, but they have the nerve to beat Chelsea 2-1 when they are in form. Man Utd’s problem is not ability, but… luck.

According to statistics from the Premier League, Man Utd is currently the team with the highest expected goals (xG) index in the league with 14.02, surpassing both Man City (12.25) and Chelsea (12.28). However, they have only scored 7 goals - meaning that up to half of their good chances have been missed or blocked. If luck is on their side, that number could completely turn into consecutive victories for Ruben Amorim's team.

Compared to PSG, despite playing in a less competitive league, their xG is only 14.85 - not much more than Man Utd. That shows that, in terms of chance creation efficiency, the English team is not even inferior. The difference is: the Premier League is extremely competitive, while Ligue 1 is a stage where PSG is almost alone.

Coach Amorim is unlucky because his strikers are wasting many opportunities.

If the two teams were to face each other now, with PSG playing inconsistently and Man Utd playing unpredictably, the balance would not necessarily be in favor of the French team. In fact, Man Utd could completely defeat PSG – if they take advantage of their opportunities and are visited by “luck”.

Source: https://znews.vn/psg-ma-gap-man-utd-luc-nay-thi-cung-thua-post1594795.html