PSG aim to bounce back after two defeats

PARIS - What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago, Paris Saint-Germain were riding the crest of a wave - 13 points clear at the top of the league and taking a two-goal cushion into the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

French League Cup final SaturdayPSG    vs    Lyon    9pmLigue 1 Sunday    Monaco    vs    Nice    2pmBastia    vs    AC Ajaccio    5pmBordeaux    vs    GuingampLorient    vs    MontpellierValenciennes    vs    NantesReims    vs    SochauxMarseille    vs    Lille    9pmPARIS - What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago, Paris Saint-Germain were riding the crest of a wave - 13 points clear at the top of the league and taking a two-goal cushion into the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.Seven days on, and two defeats later, PSG are suddenly being talked about as a club in crisis.Out of the Champions League after a Jose Mourinho-masterminded 2-0 Chelsea victory and beaten again in the league, 1-0 away at Lyon on Sunday, the knives are being sharpened ready for the ritual sacrifice of coach Laurent Blanc.Much is being made of the fact that Blanc’s one-year contract expires at the end of next season and the wealthy Qatari owners are said to be weighing their options on an extension.All the more so as it is widely accepted that Blanc was not their first choice for the job in the first place, once Carlo Ancelotti had decided to throw in his lot with Real Madrid.Certainly, it would take a massive reversal of fortune for PSG to let slip their 10-point advantage in the league over the final five games of the season.The Chelsea defeat was certainly hard to stomach for many of the players. "It’s difficult to pick yourself up after being eliminated like that,” said captain Thiago Silva.But motivate himself Thiago did, even if the same could not be said for some of his teammates in the lacklustre display at Lyon.Ironically, Lyon are next up on the radar for PSG when the two meet in the French League Cup final in Paris on Saturday.