On Thursday night, reigning French champions and Champions League finalists PSG kicked-off their Ligue One title defence with a 1-0 defeat against new boys Lens.
The result seems like a strange one and would be in ‘normal’ circumstances. However, the game was not played in ‘normal’ circumstances, as Thomas Tuchel’s team headed into the match without seven of their regular starters.
Kylian Mbappe, Keylor Navas, Neymar, Mauro Icardi, Marquinhos, Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria all missed the game as they were in quarantine due to testing positive for Covid-19.
That is most of the Parisians attack and first-choice goalkeeper missing out. Reports suggest the seven will not even be able to return until after PSG’s home game with Marseille on Sunday night.
The Parisians may have wealth beyond most clubs wildest dreams and a strong squad, but they will still be heavily affected by their best players absence from the starting eleven.
The situation is an unusual one, to say the least. However, the pandemic is still present throughout the world, so this is unlikely to be the last time this sort of thing occurs in the beautiful game.
There will no doubt be procedures in place throughout the world’s major leagues on how to handle these occurrences. Suggestions that games may be postponed as a result of players testing positive for the virus have been dismissed.
The main reason for their dismissal is the fact that the football calendar for the next two years is jam-packed, with few free weeks to squeeze the extra games into.
Thursday night’s result was a major shock. If the situation carries on, it may result in some very unusual results. The defeat may not stop PSG cruising to another French top-flight title, but it has certainly shown that the virus is still having a big impact on European football.