Paris Saint-Germain’s defense of their Champions League title faces uncertainty.
PARIS — Has the enchantment faded for Paris Saint-Germain?
It certainly seemed that way as Luis Enrique’s UEFA Champions League champions struggled to secure a 5-4 aggregate victory against AS Monaco. If they still possess the special quality that brought them so much success last season, it is imperative they demonstrate it once more—and swiftly.
PSG will encounter either Chelsea or Barcelona in the Round of 16 after defeating their Ligue 1 opponents, but their chances of advancing further in the tournament will diminish significantly if they continue to perform as lackluster as they did against Sebastien Pocognoli’s squad in Paris.
After leading 3-2 from the first leg, having overturned a 2-0 deficit to triumph at Stade Louis II, PSG fell behind to Maghnes Akliouche’s opener in the 45th minute and struggled to regain their advantage until Mamadou Coulibaly’s dismissal for two yellow cards in the 58th minute shifted the momentum back in favor of the home side.
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Within eight minutes of Coulibaly’s exit, PSG had turned the match around to lead 2-1 on the night, thanks to goals from Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, restoring normalcy. However, the necessity for the eighth-best team in Ligue 1 to be reduced to 10 players before the European champions began to perform should raise concerns for Luis Enrique.
A year ago, after narrowly advancing to the playoffs following a late surge in the League Phase, PSG found their rhythm in the Champions League with a 10-0 aggregate victory over fellow French team Brest at this stage of the tournament.
From that moment onward, PSG dominated every opponent they faced. Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal were all eliminated by the French champions, culminating in a remarkable Champions League campaign that concluded with a 5-0 victory over Internazionale in the final in Munich.
Luis Enrique had assembled a squad that was so dynamic and carefree that it drew comparisons to the Barcelona team, featuring Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar, which he led to a Treble a decade ago.
Ousmane Dembele’s scoring feats would earn him the Ballon d’Or, but Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué, João Neves, Vitinha, Achraf Hakimi, and Nuno Mendes also played crucial roles in establishing PSG as the top team globally.
If they had triumphed over Chelsea to win the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey last July, PSG would have claimed every title they contested in 2025.
However, that exhausting month in the United States last summer may have taken a significant toll on Luis Enrique’s squad. Some players had less than two weeks of rest before facing and defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup in August.
Dembele has encountered injury issues this season, as have Doué and Fabián Ruiz, and collectively, PSG appears to be lacking the additional element that rendered them unbeatable last season.
They exhibited a vibrancy throughout the squad that is now absent, as evidenced against Monaco.
Yet, perhaps it should not come as a surprise. PSG has failed to secure victory in 15 of the 38 matches they have played across all competitions this season. In contrast, last season, they did not win 17 of their 65 matches, highlighting a clear decline.
Fatigue, both physical and mental, seems inevitable given PSG’s demanding schedule last year, but there is also the challenge of having to achieve success again.
Many teams struggle to “go again” after significant triumphs—consider Liverpool’s performances in the Premier League this season—and PSG’s dominance last season makes it unreasonable to expect them to replicate that level of performance this time. Nevertheless, despite their unconvincing displays, the season is approaching its critical phase, and PSG remains in contention in the most prestigious competition of all.
Dembele and Ruiz are both estimated to be one to two weeks away from regaining full fitness, potentially allowing them to return in time for the Round of 16 first leg against Chelsea or Barcelona.
If Luis Enrique can reintegrate these two players, he will have 10 of the individuals who achieved so much last season. The only missing player would be goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who transferred to Manchester City following the acquisition of Lucas Chevalier.
Thus, the team remains largely unchanged, and significant matches are on the horizon.
However, there is a lingering concern that PSG may be running out of steam, and the Round of 16 could mark the end of their journey.
Could it be that the magic has truly vanished?
