Despite a slow start to the 2016/17 Ligue 1 campaign, in which OGC Nice pulled ahead in the race for the crown, title favourites Paris Saint-Germain have recovered well under new boss Unai Emery.
A draw and a loss in their first four games saw the current champions fall as low as seventh. However, a run of five consecutive victories between October and December saw the club regain their footing in the title race. Although, they are still far from their best.
They had the chance to cut the gap to just one point. However, a shocking 3-0 defeat to Montpellier saw PSG trail league leaders Nice by four points. They did not manage a victory against Lucien Favre’s side on Sunday and the inconsistent results will have caused Emery some worries.
PSG are still favourites, yet it is easy to see that they have gone backwards since last season. After 16 games the club find themselves in third place with 35 points. However, at the same stage of last season, PSG were already 13 points clear of second placed SM Caen at the top of the table, with the title effectively confirmed.
Their decline is undoubtedly the result of losing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who decided to depart the club at the end of last season after four years of service. In that time, the talismanic striker scored 113 goals in 122 league appearances in the French top flight. While Ibrahimovic, now aged 35, is coming to the end of his career, he was still worth 50+ goals per season to the club.
He netted 50 times and provided 19 assists in just 51 games for the French club last term and would have undoubtedly produced similar numbers again this year. His goals and assists influenced the outcome of 11 Ligue 1 matches throughout the season and ultimately earned PSG a total of 23 points. With the Swede leading the line, the club would be cruising to another league title this season.
Dealing with his exit was always going to be tough, yet the club made very little attempt to replace him over the summer. Promising winger Jese Rodriguez was brought in from Real Madrid for a €25 million fee, which has allowed Cavani to move off of the wing into his preferred central position. He is performing well, having netted 20 goals in 20 games for the club. Yet, it’s impossible for him to up his form enough to compensate for the loss of his attacking partner.
Paris Saint-Germain still possess the best squad in Ligue 1 by a country mile and remain favourites to keep their crown. Yet, unless they can capture somebody like Barcelona’s Neymar or Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, they should prepare themselves for much tougher tests in the Ligue 1 title race in the years to come.