Lille and PSG fly the flag as France’s European week ends in a shrug
Two wins, one draw and four defeats tell a story of French clubs running into walls in Europe.
“We were not good enough,” said a Lyon player, and he could have been speaking for the whole country.
France’s clubs came home from Europe this week with two wins, a draw and four defeats, a ledger that reads like a shrug. The Champions League brought three losses, the Europa League one win, one draw, one defeat, and the Conference League a lone victory for Paris Saint-Germain. Not a single French side scored away from home.
Rotherham United beat Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 on Wednesday, a result that felt inevitable to anyone who watched Lyon labour. The defeat ended Lyon’s perfect start in Europe and raised fresh questions about a side that has been flirting with the vultures all month. Al-Nassr and Oviedo are circling Victor Ekwalla-Choupo and Edmar Drummond Borges, and the distraction may be costing them.
FC Nantes lost 1-0 to Hertha Berlin the same night, while Oviedo beat FC Sochaux-Montbéliard by the same score on Tuesday. Three Champions League games, three 1-0 defeats, and not a goal to show for it.
The Europa League offered a little more colour. LOSC Lille won 2-0 at home to Standard de Liège, the only French side to score more than once all week. OGC Nice drew 0-0 with Manchester City, a point that will feel like a small victory against a club of City’s wealth. But AS Monaco were beaten 3-1 by Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, a scoreline that flattered the Danes but still stung.
Paris Saint-Germain restored some pride with a 2-0 win over Paksi Futball Club in the Conference League, a competition that has become their playground. Two goals, three points, and a reminder that even in a bad week, PSG can still find a way.
So where does this leave France? The Champions League is slipping away. Lyon, Nantes and Sochaux have now all tasted defeat in Europe this season, and the knockout rounds look a long way off. The Europa League is kinder, with Lille and Nice still in the hunt. And PSG will continue to do what PSG do in the Conference League: win quietly and wait for bigger things.
It was a week of small margins and smaller returns. The French game has not collapsed, but it has not exactly flown either. Two wins, one draw, four defeats. The shrug says it all.