Sports Burst - PSG Under Pressure
A disastrous season start for PSG sees team in the relegation zone, sidelined superstars and suffering chaotic Classique loss to Marseille
By Tim Stannard
Neymar accuses Alvaro Gonzalez of racism after seeing red in final explosive minutes of Le Classique
PSG taking up residence in the relegation zone in the Ligue 1 standings should have been a talking point itself on Monday with two defeats from two from the start of the season.
Or even the fact that it occurred after losing 1-0 to Marseille at home for the first time in 21 Le Classique encounters.
Perhaps the rumors that Thomas Tuchel's tenure as PSG is in question just weeks after reaching the Champions League final would have been the lead.
But no.
Instead, Monday is dominated by the final minutes of Sunday's Marseille mayhem which saw five players sent off and some very serious accusations of racism. Those claims come from Neymar, who was embroiled in an altercation with Marseille defender, Alvaro Gonzalez, in the final moments of injury time that eventually saw the Brazilian sent off after patting the Spaniard on the back of the head.
Afterwards, Neymar declared on social media that he had been racially abused by Gonzalez during the match, claiming that he had been called "a son of b**** money," and that, "I only regret not punching this a**hole in the face."
The response from Gonzalez on Twitter was not an explicit denial of Neymar's claims but a declaration that "there is no place for racism, sometimes you have to learn how to lose."
Thomas Tuchel, who noted that matters spiraled out of control in the final moments partly because "we are a team with a lot of South Americans," needs to start winning quickly despite the after effects of the ugliness of the latest encounter and a start of the season impacted by COVID-19.
As Marseille coach, Andre Villas-Boas pointed out after the game, two former PSG managers are now coaching Everton and Villarreal, such is the pressure to succeed in Paris.
That challenge begins on Wednesday on beIN SPORTS in a home clash against fellow relegation strugglers, Metz in a game that takes on huge import.
The German is set to have to do so without the still quarantined, Kylian Mbappe, the probably absent Mauro Icardi and the very suspended Leandro Paredes, Layvin Kurzawa, and Neymar - all casualties of a catastrophic Classique.
The Sports Burst live show will look back at any fallout in France at 12PM ET. Just head to our beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page and beIN XTRA channel.
Madrid look to offload Reguilon before season's start
Coach Zizou will be looking at Thomas Tuchel's plight in France as a reminder how quickly it is possible for a big club to fall into CRISIS!
This week sees Real Madrid's return to LaLiga and its defense of the title with a tantalizing clash against Real Sociedad on Sunday. However, there is still some squad-shedding to be done by the team.
James Rodriguez was successfully moved to Everton. Next on the exit list, it's Sergio Reguilon, with the left-back being linked with a $30 million move to Manchester United, but preferring to go on loan to Sevilla again.
And as for Gareth Bale? Probably no move at all.
Barcelona is still in limbo over Luis Suarez with his move to Juventus having gone very cold despite a reported clear message from Ronald Koeman that the Uruguayan was not part of his plans at Barcelona. There was even a hint from Juve boss, Andrea Pirlo, that "I do need a striker as soon as possible."
However, Arturo Vidal is set to move to Inter Milan on a free transfer any second now.
Speaking of teams defending league titles, as Sports Burst was a couple of seconds ago, and Turkish Super Lig champions, Istanbul Basaksehir is in action in its season opener against Hatayspor on a game that is live, live, live on beIN SPORTS at 12:50PM ET.
The team is already playing catch-up with Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas who were all winners over the weekend.