PSG – MHSC: “The return to competition has made everyone responsible”, Montpellier want to create the feat against Paris

Benjamin Lecomte devra réaliser un grand match face au PSG. Midi Libre – RICHARD DE HULLESSEN

Pour tenir le choc face au PSG post-Mbappé, Montpellier aura besoin d’une défense solide et d’un état d’esprit parfait, lors de cette 2e journée de Ligue 1.

Montpellier is heading to Paris in gala attire. To go and play in the Parc des Princes, the legendary stadium of the Platini years, he is getting ready to put on the “away” jersey. This unique tunic, designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary, lists the names of the 617 players who have worn it one day.

🆕👕 𝑵𝒐𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆́𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒖𝒓 𝟐𝟒-𝟐𝟓

𝑈𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑖-𝑠𝑖𝑒̀𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑑’𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑖𝑟𝑒,
𝟼𝟷𝟽 𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑠, 𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒́𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑙, 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡.
𝑈𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑡.
𝐿𝑒 𝑛𝑜̂𝑡𝑟𝑒. 𝑳𝒆 𝒗𝒐̂𝒕𝒓𝒆.#50ansMHSC | @Nike pic.twitter.com/eoqeMrkzAj

— MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) July 31, 2024

“I felt a certain emotion when I discovered it on a video”, recently confided the president Laurent Nicollin. For the first time, Téji Savanier's partners will feel on their shoulders the weight of the history of the youngest club in Ligue 1, which wants to keep its place there.

Montpellier will try to live up to this past that has been carefully tended since the dawn of summer. If for several seasons, it has liked to get some fresh air and points away from the Mosson, it is measuring itself from the start at a top level beyond its category. And risks suffocating some illusions because this meeting resembles a crash test for its defense.

Ten matches, ten defeats

Since the historic draw (2-2) on February 19, 2012, which paved the way for the title, Montpellier has often lost its illusions in the face of the whirlwind of the new PSG. If it had until then taken a malicious pleasure in strolling on the grand boulevards, it is now suffering a boomerang effect, under the effect of a gap in means that continues to widen. Between the Qataris and the rest of the troop.

Read also: PSG – MHSC: Sylla still injured, a striker back… with which team will Montpellier play ?

The dream often turns sour. The Montpellier team has conceded ten defeats in as many matches against the French champion during the last five seasons. At the Parc as at the Mosson.

She knows even more than anyone else the vexation that accompanies a trip to the lands of PSG, which leaves only crumbs and which can want to mark with its imprint the beginning of a new era.

🚆 𝑫𝑬́𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑻 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔 !

⚡️ #PSGMHSC pic.twitter.com/PemOScVOgV

— MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) August 23, 2024

This Friday, Paris will want to chase away the ghost of the new Madrid player Kylian Mbappé, who left after seven remarkable years, and mark out the milestones of the new attack, under the influence of Spanish coach Luis Enrique. With the tricolor trio: Dembélé, Kolo Muani, Barcola at the bridgehead.

The recent memory of the crash on the Parisian dream of greatness imposes a certain modesty on Michel Der Zakarian's players. “If Paris wants to play a big game, it will be complicated… It's up to us to play the game we need to annoy them, it's up to us to be present in the defensive sector. It's still a plus to bring something back from the Parc des Princes", believes goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte.

📽️ 𝑼𝑵𝑬 𝑫𝑬́𝑭𝑬𝑵𝑺𝑬 𝑫𝑬 𝑭𝑬𝑹 💪
🆚 𝗣𝗦𝗚 0️⃣-0️⃣ 𝗠𝗛𝗦𝗖
🗓️ 2015/2016

🧤Match XXL de Laurent Pionnier
 #50ansMHSC pic.twitter.com/HQLSzyNvN2

— MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) August 22, 2024

Montpellier goes to the Parc in search of a bonus. And clues about its defense. It will gauge its ability to unite around a defense that is under construction. Weakened by injuries, it has displayed an experimental face throughout the preparation in the image of a constantly renewed hinge. The absence of the sentinel Joris Chotard, who returned in Olympic form from the Olympic Games and was promised a start, did not help.

“Friendly matches remain training sessions. The return to competition has made everyone more responsible. I am happy with what we offered in front of Strasbourg, I found it positive” notes the Montpellier goalkeeper.

Read also: "Things can happen in the meantime", Montpellier's Joris Chotard will perhaps play his last match with MHSC against PSG

To approach a season, where the defense promises to be on the front line, Benjamin Lecomte aspires to more stability. “When I returned (January 2023, editor's note), the defense hadn't moved, the results had followed and galvanized the group. When you remove a link, it becomes fragile. Last year, we changed too much by choice, injuries or cards. Preserving the backbone is a priority. Especially since I like to have benchmarks”, he recommends.

There's nothing like a meeting at the Parc to find out if this defense can see further.

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