Paris: Paris St Germain continued their march towards a first French league title since 1994 with a 1-0 win at Evian Thonon Gaillard on Sunday, yet the mood around the club is one of gloom not glory as their coronation approaches.
The victory took PSG nine points clear with four rounds remaining but the game ended on a sour note when Marco Verratti and David Beckham were sent off late in the second half and a mass brawl erupted after the final whistle.
Adding to the negativity surrounding PSG is the cloud of uncertainty hanging over coach Carlo Ancelotti's future at a club whose success has been fuelled by an outlay of more than 200 million euros on transfers in two years.
"With Verratti and Beckham's red cards, it is true that we lost control by the end," Ancelotti was quoted as saying in French media on Monday.
Verratti was given his marching orders when he picked up a second yellow card for arguing with the referee and the Italian midfielder was left feeling the wrath of Ancelotti as he trudged his way towards the dressing room.
"I had warned him. He was supposed not to talk (to the referee). He has not understood that you need to be calm once you have a yellow card," Ancelotti added.
Sporting director Leonardo opted to blame PSG's ill-disciplined performance on match official Olivier Thual.
"The referee lacked lucidity, he made a string of errors. The red card he handed to Beckham is really unfair," the Brazilian told daily Le Parisien.
PRESSURE BUILDS
Beckham was shown a straight red card for what appeared to be a dangerous lunge at Youssef Adnane just six minutes after coming on as a substitute.
"I also think that our team are really tired at the end of the season," Leonardo added. "The pressure has been tremendous for months."
The pressure is now also on Ancelotti, who has to decide whether he wants to continue in the job after a one-year contract extension was triggered by the victory that guaranteed PSG at least a second-place finish in Ligue 1.
Leonardo, however, was quick to dismiss the notion that the uncertainty was weighing on the squad.
"Absolutely not," he snapped. "Our players have enough experience not to be troubled by this."
PSG will be crowned champions if they pick up more points than second-placed Olympique Marseille this weekend but they go into the match against Valenciennes on Sunday without several key players.
Beckham, Verratti and Thiago Motta are all suspended, leaving Ancelotti with a midfield conundrum to solve.
Keeper Salvatore Sirigu could also miss the game after being involved in the post-match brawl.
Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is available after he stayed out of trouble on Sunday, said "None of this matters. We won the game and we are the champions. Remember this."
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