What's Gone Wrong For Paris Saint-Germain Post Champions League And How Could They Turn It Around?
Despite being one of the most valuable clubs in the world, and despite having some of the best players to ever grace the game, Paris Saint-Germain have long struggled to achieve any sort of European success. Yes, they dominate domestic competitions, but they have failed time and time again to do so where it really counts – the Champions League.
PSG qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League this season, despite a couple of ropey performances. The league has been a familiar and similar story: uninspired performances but largely uncontested dominance, until something snaps and the team loses interest. It seems every season begs the same questions for PSG: What has gone wrong for the Parisian club and how can they turn things around? Find out here.
Champions League Group Stage
The Champions League is Europe’s premier football tournament. It’s where legends are made and where dreams are shattered. The group stage can be comfortable ride for many of the major teams, but fans clamour for tickets, wanting those European nights. Click here for more information about Champions League tickets.
PSG’s Champions League campaign started well, with 2 – 1 and 3 -1 victories over Juventus and Maccabi Haifa. However, their third game saw them take on Benfica, who held them to a 1 – 1 draw. In isolation, this wasn’t a bad result, given the fact it was away from home and PSG already had six points on the board. However, after a tepid 0 – 0 stalemate with Reims in Ligue 1, and then another 1 – 1 draw with Benfica in the second leg of the tie, fans began to voice some concerns.
New Year, Old Problems
The poor results have continued in 2023. PSG were beaten 1 – 3 by Lens on January 1st. Just three games later, they lost 0 – 1 to Rennes, and then drew 1 – 1 with Rennes again two weeks later.
Things went from bad to worse, PSG were eliminated from the French Cup after losing 1 -2 to Marseille, before going on to lose 1 – 3 to Monaco in the league. This remarkably poor run of form was not the ideal way to prepare for their next game, a Champions League knockout tie against Bayern Munich. They lost this game 0 – 1, leaving fans furious about the direction the club is heading.
What’s Gone Wrong?
As with many things in football, it’s difficult to point to an exact cause. Instead, PSG’s capitulation is the result of a perfect storm of different factors. Since the Bayern defeat, it appears the team has lost all level of interest and motivation.
First of all, PSG talisman Lionel Messi has been dealing with a hamstring injury. This is to be expected given his age, and despite his incredible talents, perhaps PSG are putting too much weight on the shoulders of the Argentine superstar. Mbappe has also been dealing with an injury, which has kept the French sensation sidelined for nearly two weeks. Neymar is also out for the season with an ankle injury.
What’s more, there have been reports that all is not well in the PSG dressing room. Tension between players and among staff can often spill over into on-field performances, and notoriously diva-like stars could be adding fuel to the fire.
If PSG want to turn things around, manager Christophe Galtier needs to do two things. First, he needs to think about bringing in reinforcements to support a beleaguered squad. Second, he must address dressing room issues to restore a sense of unity and harmony to the club. However, it’s unlikely he’ll be in the job to see these solutions through.
