Ibrahimovic to the rescue! Crisis talk in Paris as PSG slump again

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - a key player wherever he goes

Paris Saint-Germain may have assembled one of the most expensive teams in recent memory but without talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic the French title favourites suffered another shocking defeat last weekend. Ben Lyttleton reports on a crisis in the capital.

Paris Saint-Germain are in crisis. How do we know? Because coach Carlo Ancelotti said so. After PSG somehow lost 2-1 at home to nine-man Rennes on Saturday night (and these weren't late sendings-offs, the first was on 20 minutes and the second on 55 minutes), the normally mild-mannered Italian boss came out fighting. 

"We are not a team yet," said Ancelotti.

"We have to change something, and I will do. The attitude of the players will change. I am very annoyed. We've just lost two games at home and this is not possible for a team that wants to win the title. I'm not afraid to say we're in crisis. We have to get out of it quickly." 

All the talk after the game has focused on just how dependent PSG have become - already - on Zlatan Ibrahimovic: suspended for the last two games, PSG picked up only one points from those matches. But more worrying than that, perhaps, was their lack of team spirit, especially compared to Rennes, who are now up to sixth place and only point behind PSG. With Lyon beating Reims 3-0, and going two points clear at the top, PSG have moved out, just a bit, to 1.4840/85 to win Ligue 1, with Lyon 4.84/1 and Marseille 5.85/1. 

"The quality of the players is there, but it's not the accumulation of good players that makes a good team. We must have the same mindset as Rennes. Our attitude needs to quickly improve," said PSG captain for the game, Zoumana Camara. 

That attitude came into focus when Jeremy Menez stormed straight down the tunnel after he was subbed off. There were also reports that Ancelotti had asked all his players to stay for lunch at the Camp des Loges training-centre to help build a togetherness in the group but, because so few players stayed, a letter was sent out last week reminding them to hang around. This is the third game PSG have failed to win without Ibrahimovic in the side: he has scored over half of their league leagues (ten out of 19) and set up all four goals in their Champions League Matchday Four win over Dinamo Zagreb.

Perhaps Ancelotti needs to take a leaf out of Sweden coach Erik Hamren's book: after Ibra scored four goals in last week's 4-2 win over England, Hamren lashed out at a reporter who wanted to ask about his mercurial skipper.

"It's really bad respect towards the players who work out there on the pitch, you keep asking about Zlatan," Hamren said.

"In a team, there are 11 players, 11 players working hard for each other. A player cannot do anything on his own. Yes, he is world-class, but the others do a f***ing job, too." 

So with the team in crisis, Wednesday's trip to Dynamo Kiev is slightly fraught with danger: Dynamo are five points behind second-placed PSG in Group A, and a home win would leave the French side needing something from their final against Porto to ensure qualification. PSG are 2.6413/8 to win, with Dinamo 2.942/1. The draw is 3.45n/a but with PSG shaky at the back, Dinamo chasing the game, and Ibrahimovic back in the side, goals could be on the menu. Look at Both Teams to Score, and the Over-3.5 Goals market, which is 4.03/1.