Saturday 21 January 2012

Sablé 0-4 PSG: Pastore problem mars Parisien progress

"Merde alors, I'm so fed up of hearing about Carlos bloody Tevez"
"Despite the score, the Sarthe is happy tonight," declared French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (above), after witnessing PSG ease past Sablé-sur-Sarthe 4-0 in the Coupe de France last night.

Good old politicians, they can always be relied on to provide a patronising pat on the head for the little guy when required. Le Mans native Fillon, who started his political career as mayor of Sablé, probably didn't endear himself to the fans of his local club by accepting a PSG shirt from Nasser Al-Khelaifi afterwards. Oh well, at least he'll have scored some browny points with his boss, French president - and noted PSG fan - Nicolas Sarkozy.

This game never looked likely to be a difficult one for PSG from the moment Nene opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half. The Brazilian then combined with Menez to provide an easy second for Kevin Gameiro, before playing the pass which allowed Super Kev to run free and slot in the third. Nene rounded off the scoring near the end.

"Our first half wasn't the best and we carried the ball far too much," noted Carlo Ancelotti afterwards. "I wasn't happy at half-time. However, the second half was very good with some excellent counter-attacks."

The only fly in the ointment was an injury to Javier Pastore, who limped off after 27 minutes with a thigh injury. El Flaco is expected to be out for at least three weeks, making him a doubt for the crunch game against Montpellier on February 18. Obviously we will miss a player of Pastore's quality, and it's a shame he's got injured at a time when he seemed to be recovering some semblance of his best form. 

His absence may expedite Leonardo's attempts to bring in new blood. Yesterday he met with Carlos Tevez's agent, Kia Joorabchian for talks about the striker's future. Yawn.

When ambushed by Le Parisien on his way back to England, Joorabchian said: "I can't speak for him. I can only tell you that Carlos is one of the very best players in the world and when we fall into this category, all parameters are taken into account.

"Money matters, of course, but there is everything else. Life, people you work with, the advice of your family, etc.. We must look at everything and wait for AC Milan to put in another bid."

I might've made that last bit up, but it sounds promising doesn't it? Or maybe not. 

PSG have also been linked with Sporting Lisbon right-back João Pereira, who would cost €7million. I know nothing about this player, but @portugoaldotnet had this to say about the 28-year-old:

"Excellent going forward, decent if not brilliant defender. Fiesty temp'mt. Yellow & red cards a-plenty in career."
Sounds fun. We could do with another right-back, so we'll have to wait and see if this rumour has legs.

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