PSG’s fate is in their own hands – but can they cope with sterner tests that are sure to come?

Group F is so fiercely competitive that every fixture has carried a gravitas this season. But in Paris, there was an acute sense of anticipation for Newcastle’s visit.

Since Paris Saint-Germain’s humiliation at St James’ Park last month, when they suffered a 4-1 defeat, this fixture had held an added significance. Talk of revenge was played down, publicly at least, but it was obvious the game mattered much more than an ordinary group-stage encounter.

Pre-match, there was a call to arms from PSG’s ultras, who released a statement calling for the “mobilisation of the supporters of Paris”. Former players, including Javier Pastore, Pauleta, Youri Djorkaeff and David Ginola were called in by the club for a video to help rally the terraces: “We’re counting on you to create an incredible atmosphere,” said Ginola, “because your team need it.” Head coach Luis Enrique asked for a “passionate” Parc des Princes during his pre-match press conference and added that his side would treat the game “like a final”.

This may not have been a knockout encounter, but the temperature of the game and the finely poised nature of the group itself certainly made it feel that way. It was a pressure cooker and with it brought expectation and a glimpse of whether PSG could cope when the heat really turns up in the latter stages of the competition.

A 1-1 draw, salvaged by a late, controversial penalty, was not overly reassuring.

“I am very pleased with my players’ attitude and performance,” said Luis Enrique. “We showed today that this team is made of something special. We didn’t give up until the end and even though we were struggling to score and the ball was fizzing around the box like a pinball that wouldn’t go in, I feel much prouder than after a victory because of the ability we displayed to battle and overcome frustration.”

His interpretation may seem optimistic, but it was not entirely unreasonable. This was a very different game from the defeat at St James’ Park.

PSG create an impressive number of chances. They had 31 attempts on goal, of which nine were defined by Opta as a ‘big chance’. Those attempts amounted to an expected goals (xG) tally of almost 4.5, the club’s second-highest in the competition since 2014.

On any other day, they would have won this game comfortably.

Yet, on the day it mattered, PSG did not do that. In fact, they had to rely on a soft penalty call and their wastefulness saw the largest differential between expected goals and goals scored (-3.47) since Opta began collecting such data in the Champions League in 2013-14.

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This, of course, involves a team that committed to spending more than €200million (£173m; $220m) on attacking reinforcements in the summer.

“It’s frustrating because we dominated this team from start to finish,” said Kylian Mbappe, speaking to Canal+. “They had nothing, we knew it was their game to have nothing. We had far too many chances for one match of the Champions League. It’s not the organisation, the structure… it’s us, the players. We need to kill the match and win comprehensively.”

Mbappe is no stranger to pressure and it is no surprise the result rankled with him. The France captain has scored four times in World Cup finals, including two goals from the spot, and his influence was evident as the match progressed. He watched on as team-mates Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele passed up golden chances before he was eventually handed one himself from the penalty spot. There was no doubt about the outcome.

But PSG, who are a younger team now after a summer overhaul, cannot rely on his sang-froid alone, not if they want to progress in this competition. In the league, Luis Enrique’s side have not struggled for goals, winning their six previous matches while scoring at least three times in each. Against Monaco on Friday, they had five different goalscorers.

But the Champions League is a very different environment to Ligue 1 and the stakes are higher, certainly at PSG where, even though the talk of a new era has dampened European expectations, the competition still remains the defining element of a given season. The tangible difference between PSG’s ruthlessness domestically and their profligacy on Tuesday seemed to be the occasion.

And that matters, especially for a team that still feels like a work in progress. Against Newcastle, there was evidence again of the teething issues that continue to afflict this new-look PSG side, notably in the inconsistency of their build-up play against a high press, epitomised by Alexander Isak’s missed chance on 24 minutes after Miguel Almiron stole the ball from Achraf Hakimi.

The concerning point, though, for PSG is that sterner tests await than the one presented by a depleted Newcastle side. For as much as PSG dominated, this was partially expected. Newcastle were down to the bare bones; of their seven substitutes, two were goalkeepers and four were teenagers. They made no changes during the game and that they retreated to the edge of Nick Pope’s goal in the second half, under a Parisian siege, was no surprise. PSG’s changes, namely bringing on Vitinha and Barcola, changed the momentum of the game and allowed the French champions to dominate the second half.

But in different circumstances, Newcastle may not have yielded so much space. So while on another day PSG might have won this contest, against a stronger opponent they may well have been punished further for their wastefulness.

As it happened, PSG received a get-out-of-jail-free card and it ensured their Champions League fate remains in their own hands heading into their last game, against Borussia Dortmund.

"It's absolutely never a penalty… at this level it's a disgrace" 😤@allysbears and @jjenas8 have a strongly opinionated discussion around the awarding of the penalty which cost Newcastle the win…@laura_woodsy | #UCL pic.twitter.com/Da8dMe6dCc

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 28, 2023

Win in Germany and PSG top the group, but replicate the wastefulness of Tuesday and they run the risk of an early exit, something that has not happened before in the era of Qatari ownership.

While the Newcastle game may have felt unique, the pressure of this competition is very much here to stay.

(Top photo: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)