Apart from the defeat suffered against OL Lyonnes at the Parc des Princes in the league, our Parisian ladies have made an excellent start to the season. Combining defensive solidity with clinical finishing, the capital club are hot on the heels of Les Gones in the Arkéma Première Ligue and remain unbeaten in the Champions League despite tough encounters away at Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Against PFC, the team will need to be extra vigilant to secure a positive result and open up a gap over the other Parisian side. Going into the game, Sandrine Soubeyrand’s players are three points behind the Rouge et Bleu, having played one game fewer.
In recent years, matches between PFC and Paris have often been high-stakes and tense affairs. This is shown by the fact that the two sides have faced each other in the play-offs of each of the last two Arkema Première Ligue seasons. Added to this are decisive matches in the last three editions of the Coupe de France, as well as the semi-finals of the inaugural LFFP Cup last season.
Whilst PFC came out on top in last season’s play-offs, the overall record remains firmly in the capital club’s favour, with a total of 19 wins, 6 draws and 2 defeats across all competitions.
Since the start of the season, in the 11 matches Paris have played across all competitions, nine players have found the net at least once. Whether it’s Paulina Dudek’s finishing, the flair of the young Léa Morissaint or the goals from Sakina Karchaoui, Yaya and Tara Elimbi Gilbert, the Parisian women can rely on a wealth of attacking options.
Paulo César emphasised this once again after Thursday evening’s draw away to the English champions, stating that his players had defended well and that “as a team, [we] were solid”. The capital club’s coach then described what made “this team strong”, adding that he was “very proud of the girls because they stuck to the game plan.”
