Mary Earps and her PSG team-mates are set to say goodbye to head coach Fabrice Abriel just days before the most important game of their season.
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PSG start league title-deciding play-offs this weekBut head coach Abriel to be sacked beforehandNews comes two days after disappointing cup final lossFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The top league in French women's football starts its title-deciding play-offs this weekend, with the table's top four teams going into a knockout bracket to decide who will be crowned champions. PSG take on city rivals Paris FC on Sunday, with the victor likely to face perennial winners Lyon in the final, and the club has opted to make a huge change ahead of that game as reports that head coach Abriel is to be sacked on Monday.
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The news follows a shock loss in the French Cup final on Saturday, when Paris FC became the first team other than PSG or Lyon to win the trophy since 2011. Abriel's side kept a clean sheet in the game thanks to Katarzyna Kierdryznek, who has played all of the team's games in the cup this season. Alongside Earps on the bench, though, was all-time top goal-scorer Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sakina Karchaoui, one of the side's most creative players. Both did enter the game in the second half but couldn't help PSG find a necessary breakthrough before they lost the final on penalties.
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That defeat was the latest disappointment in Abriel's first season in charge of the club. After failing to get out of Champions League qualifying back in September, the campaign has been marred by reports of friction between the coach and several of his star players. Indeed, Katoto has described the atmosphere in the team as "heavy", with it expected that the star striker will depart the club when her contract ends this summer.
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR EARPS AND PSG?
reported that Abriel was set to learn of his sacking on Monday with it unclear who will be in the dugout for Sunday's huge game as Earps and her PSG team-mates try to deliver just a second-ever league title for the women's team.
