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Paris Saint Germain, or PSG, the French club based in Paris, is one of the leading clubs in Europe now. They have risen to prominence in the past decade or so by purchasing some very good players and appointing top coaches. PSG has won the French League 5 times in the last 7 years and is the most successful French club now.
However, Paris needs to win the UEFA Champions League to be counted among the elite clubs of world football. They have a great chance of doing so this season as they continue to exhibit great form in the group stages.
They beat Liverpool 2-1 on Wednesday to go to 8 points from 5 matches and only need a draw in their last match to qualify for the next round.
We would take a look at 3 reasons which make them genuine contenders in the Champions League this season:
1. Having a brilliant, well-rounded attack
PSG has one of the best attacks in the world and boast some of the better attacking footballers in their line-up. They have Neymar’s dribbling and ball-skills, Mbappe’s speed, Cavani’s finishing, and Di Maria’s shooting prowess.
Very few clubs in the world have such a complete and well-rounded attack. Therefore, PSG can afford to play a fluid and flexible style of football which is both effective and slick at the same time.
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe’s combination can be more than a handful for any defense in world football. Mbappe prefers to have more space to make his runs, but most of the defenders do not allow him that space.
Therefore, he plays quick one-twos with Neymar to create space and make those darting runs. If Mbappe runs through the flanks, Neymar moves to central areas to receive his crosses and provide those killer blows. At times, Mbappe cuts in to the penalty box from the flanks.
Cavani is a very opportunistic striker as well, and has scored 180 goals in 258 matches for PSG. He is a perennial headache for opposition defenders because of his ball-control and dribbling abilities inside the penalty box.
In addition to that, Di Maria keeps taking shots at goal from the edge of the penalty box. In this context, we cannot forget his brilliant strike against Napoli in the Champions League this season, or the scorcher against France in the last World Cup.
2. Having some solid defensive players at the back
Not only does PSG have a sparkling attack, but they also back it up with some solid defensive players. Captain Thiago Silva has been a pillar in the PSG defense in the past 7 seasons and continues to be one of their key players. He also has a good header on him and scored 16 goals in 264 matches for them.
Moreover, Jean Bernat has also become a major threat for the opposition from the set-pieces. He scored a goal against Liverpool in the last match and could have scored another.
Marco Veratti is also a very dependable player in the midfield for PSG. He can retain possession in the midfield to give the forwards enough time to reorganize themselves and then play passes to them. Veratti has played 253 matches for PSG in the last 7 seasons and been one of the reasons behind their recent success.
Thomas Meunier, the Belgian right-back, is also one of the most underrated fullbacks in the world and provides momentum to PSG’s attacks with his overlapping runs. Thus, PSG has the right mix in its squad and remains one of the most balanced sides in the world.
3. Poor form of the big clubs
The 3 biggest European clubs of recent times, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, are all going through a rough patch this season. Real and Bayern are struggling domestically, as both of them are outside the top 4 in the league table at the moment. Both of them have qualified for the next round in the Champions League, but might not advance to the latter stages of the tournament.
Barcelona are in a better position as they have comfortably won their group, but they also have their share of injury problems as both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have missed some matches this season. If last year’s finalists Liverpool also fail to qualify from their group, it would mean that yet another obstacle has been removed from PSG’s path to glory.
This would definitely bolster PSG’s chances of winning the ultimate prize in club football. There are strong sides like Juventus and Manchester City in the fray, but they are not unbeatable and Tuchel would also take heart from the fact that City have never won a Champions League.
