February may be the shortest month of the year, but it certainly dragged on for a Brest team that failed to win a single game during this period.
Eric Roy, the third individual to patrol Brest’s dugout this season, steered his side to a much-needed 1-0 win against fellow strugglers Strasbourg last weekend to get March off to a better start.
Franck Honorat drilled the only goal of a cagey game into the bottom corner at Strasbourg’s Stade de la Meinau, lifting Brest out of the relegation zone – although, they remain well and truly embroiled in a scrap at the foot of the table, sitting just one point above the bottom four.
Just two of Brest’s home matches all season have ended in victory; against 19th-placed Troyes just before the World Cup break and rock-bottom Angers at the end of January.
Oddly enough, Brest have had more joy on the road this term and only lost 1-0 to PSG on their visit to Paris in September.
However, Brest have lost their previous 12 meetings with PSG across all competitions, last earning a victory against the capital side in 1985 – before every member of the current squad was born.
Trailing Bayern by a single goal from the first leg in Paris, PSG went to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday with every chance of advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals but were effectively muzzled by the Bavarians, attempting just two shots on target as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat.
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That loss sent PSG limping out of the Champions League in the round of 16 for the fifth time in the last seven seasons, a ruinous record which does not reflect the eye-watering fees lavished on Galtier’s squad.
The combined weekly salary of PSG’s playing staff is estimated to be more than the annual budget for Brest’s entire squad – Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar each earn more in a fortnight than the yearly sum Brest give to their best-paid player, Pierre Lees-Melou.
Despite this investment, PSG have lost five of their nine away games since the World Cup and have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 matches at any venue.
