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According to former France winger Florent Malouda, PSG and Lionel Messi could stop Chelsea from winning the UEFA Champions League for the second year in a row. He believes the Parisians pose a serious threat to the Premier League giants' chances of retaining the European crown this season.
The Champions League has lived up to its reputation once again this term, with European powerhouses bringing out their best in recent weeks.
Florent Malouda has named four clubs he considers favorites to win the tournament this time, and the Parisians are unsurprisingly one of them.
He told Genting Casino (via Daily Post):
"As usual, it would be Liverpool, Man City – the English teams are always dangerous. Then you have PSG or Madrid, especially Paris. They are always close."
Paris Saint-Germain have been one of the top performers in the Champions League over the last couple of years. They made their maiden appearance in the final of the competition in 2020 but fell short against Bayern Munich. The Ligue 1 giants were comprehensively beaten by Manchester City in the semifinals of the competition in 2021.
However, many, including Florent Malouda, expect the French giants to finally get the job done this season following the arrival of Lionel Messi last summer.
Malouda said:
“They brought in Messi to win this competition. PSG are so willing to win the Champions League, they could be a danger if they find the right attacking balance."
Meanwhile, the Parisians' all-star attack consisting of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is yet to take off this season. Mbappe has single-handedly carried out the team's goalscoring responsibilities several times.
That doesn't seem to bother Florent Malouda, though. The former Chelsea player believes the trio will be unstoppable when they finally find the perfect connection. He said:
"And this could happen very fast because when their attacking players find confidence, you’re talking about serious firepower."
Lionel Messi's stats with PSG in the Champions League this season
Lionel Messi scored his first goal for PSG during a Champions League group-stage clash with Manchester City in September last year. Since then, he's bagged four more goals for the club in the tournament, raising his tally to five goals in six games.
Once again, the Parisians will be counting on the Argentine when they face Real Madrid in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie on 9 March. Mauricio Pochettino's men are in a good position to progress into the next round after winning the first leg 1-0 at the Parc des Princes last week.
PSG saw off the Spanish giants via Mbappe's injury time winner after Messi missed a penalty in the second-half. The Frenchman has already scored five and assisted six goals in Europe this season.
