UEFA Champions League
With Kylian Mbappe gone, misfiring PSG are under pressure in Champions League
Kylian Mbappe was always going to leave an enormous void when he left Paris Saint-Germain, and the French side are struggling in this season’s Champions League without the goals of their former star.
While the striker is now at Real Madrid after scoring a club-record 256 goals in seven seasons in Paris, his old club entertain Atletico Madrid on Nov 6 in a crucial game in their European campaign.
PSG are misfiring in this new-look Champions League, with just four points from three games, despite starting with kind home fixtures against Girona and PSV Eindhoven either side of a trip to Arsenal.
Luis Enrique’s team beat Girona 1-0 only thanks to a late own goal, despite 26 attempts during that game.
That was followed by a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal in a performance which suggested a rejuvenated PSG side are now a long way from being contenders to win European club football’s greatest prize.
Then came a 1-1 draw against PSV, another game in which they managed 26 attempts and in which they paid a price for poor finishing.
PSG need only finish in the top 24 places in this 36-team league in order to reach the play-off round, and it seems reasonable to suggest that two wins from their remaining five fixtures may be enough to ensure that.
However, failure to beat Atletico would leave the Ligue 1 champions in an uncomfortable position with their next game away to Bayern Munich.
“It is the worst group,” Enrique said after the game against PSV in reference to his team’s fixtures, with Red Bull Salzburg, Manchester City and VfB Stuttgart also still to come.
“We need to be prepared to improve what we can and keep going. But yes, it is difficult and of course I am worried.”
The Qatar-owned club are coping just fine without Mbappe in Ligue 1, as they sit six points clear at the top of the table having scored 29 goals in 10 matches.
Mbappe netted 44 times in 48 appearances last season, even if he often struggled to produce his best form.
Nevertheless, PSG’s difficulties in front of goal in the Champions League date back to last season’s semi-finals when Mbappe was still there.
They were favourites to beat Borussia Dortmund, but lost 2-0 on aggregate. PSG had a grand total of 45 attempts on goal across the two legs and failed to score.
This season they have two goals from 62 attempts in Europe, and will have to be more clinical against Diego Simeone’s Atletico, the best defence in Spain.
Bradley Barcola, the 22-year-old France international left-winger, is now PSG’s main attacking threat with eight goals this season, while Ousmane Dembele has contributed five from the right.
“We must not have one player on whom all the pressure lies,” Enrique added of Barcola, admitting that the biggest issue is the lack of a reliable centre-forward.
Goncalo Ramos was in line to be the first choice in that position, but he picked up an ankle injury minutes into the campaign and is yet to return.
Randal Kolo Muani was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for €90 million (S$129 million) at the start of last season but has never settled at PSG, despite producing good form for France.
Things have become so bad for Kolo Muani that he has been an unused substitute in the last two games, and a departure in January looks increasingly likely.
“I count on all my players,” insisted Enrique, who has more often deployed either Marco Asensio or Lee Kang-in as a false nine.
In any case, the former Barcelona coach has played down major concerns about his team despite being worried.
“We are scoring more goals, picking up more points, I don’t see any problems,” he said.
“There has maybe been one match in the Champions League in which we were not up to standard but we were much better than our opponents in the other two games.”
Despite that, the coach and his team will ultimately be judged above all on their results in the Champions League, and the pressure is growing.
While PSG have issues in front of goal, Giuliano Simeone, the son of Atletico coach Diego, could play a key part after scoring in the 2-0 Spanish La Liga win over Las Palmas over the weekend.
The striker, deployed on the right wing by his father, burst into the box and swept the ball into the far corner for the team’s first goal.
“Giuliano I see as a football player,” said Diego.
“From the first moment that we decided he would stay with us (in the squad) this season, it’s with the intention that he can help us. He has a responsibility and not a name, I look at it that way… those who run most, play, and those who don’t, play less.”
-AFP
Paris St Germain midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery became the youngest player to win two Champions League finals after featuring in Saturday’s dramatic victory over Arsenal.
The France international, who came off the bench for extra time in PSG’s 4-3 penalty shootout triumph after a 1-1 draw against Arsenal at the Puskas Arena, lifted the trophy for the second straight season at the age of 20 years and two months.
Zaire-Emery had already featured briefly in last year’s crushing 5-0 victory over Inter Milan and now surpasses former Ajax Amsterdam midfielder Johan Neeskens, who was 20 years and eight months old when he won his second European Cup final in the 1970s.
-Reuters
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Paris St Germain held their nerve in a cagey Champions League final to retain the title by beating Arsenal 4-3 on penalties as Saturday’s nail-biting showdown ended 1-1 after extra time, cementing the French side’s status among Europe’s modern greats.
Arsenal defender Gabriel blasted his spot kick over Matvey Safonov’s crossbar at the Puskas Arena, his miss confirming PSG as the first club to retain the trophy since Real Madrid completed their three-year reign from 2016 to 2018.
Long dismissed as glamorous underachievers despite vast resources, the Ligue 1 champions have now forged a dynasty under Luis Enrique, marrying attacking brilliance with resilience to establish themselves as the dominant force in European football.
“It’s stronger than last year because we knew before the match just how difficult it would be to play against Arsenal,” said Luis Enrique, whose side had thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 to claim Europe’s elite trophy for the first time.
“As a club and a city, it’s incredible to win, and I think we deserved it over the course of the season. The final was a real battle,” added the Spanish coach.
The outcome left Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice devastated but proud as his side finished their European campaign without losing a match aside from the shootout defeat in the final.
“It’s gutting. It’s devastating to lose a Champions League final on penalties,” he said. “But we try to take a lot of perspective from how far we’ve come as a group.
“An incredible season. Given it absolutely everything up until this point. We took the game to penalties. It’s a lottery.”
EUROPE’S BIGGEST STAGE
Eleven days after celebrating their first Premier League title in 22 years, Arsenal looked set for a maiden triumph on Europe’s biggest stage after Kai Havertz’s sixth-minute opener and a first hour spent smothering PSG’s vaunted attack.
However, the final became chaotic once PSG’s Ousmane Dembele equalised with a penalty in the 65th minute, the pace turning frantic before exhaustion took the match to a shootout.
Under Luis Enrique, PSG have won the six shootouts they have contested. The 56-year-old has now won 12 of the 13 one-off club finals he has overseen as a coach.
After brushing aside Premier League opposition on their way to the final by eliminating Chelsea and Liverpool, PSG were facing a much sterner test against an Arsenal team playing their second Champions League final after losing to Barcelona in 2006.
Mikel Arteta’s side took the lead when Marquinhos’ clearance bounced off Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard into the path of Havertz, who raced into the box and fired into the roof of the net.
He is the fourth player to score in two different European Cup or Champions League finals with two different clubs.
It was the nightmare scenario for PSG – trailing so early against the best defence in the competition.
Arsenal lived up to their reputation as the best team without the ball and looked perfectly content with the script, doubling up on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and suffocating the usual danger brought by the Georgian magician on the left flank.
PSG’s Fabian Ruiz was unable to impose his usual rhythm in midfield and, despite monopolising possession for long spells, Luis Enrique’s side struggled to carve out clear-cut chances.
By halftime, PSG had attacked 32 times, Arsenal three times.
Arsenal, however, were flirting with the boundaries with their challenges, and Cristhian Mosquera brought down Kvaratskhelia in the area, with Dembele converting the penalty to equalise with his eighth goal in the competition.
MOMENTUM SHIFTS
The momentum had shifted.
Jurrien Timber and Viktor Gyokeres replaced Mosquera, and Martin Odegaard and Arsenal had a more attacking mindset but were exposed to PSG’s counterattacks, and at the end of one of them, Kvaratskhelia sped into the box, only for his left-footed effort to crash onto the outside of David Raya’s post.
After controlling the tempo in the first half, Arsenal played into PSG’s hands as the pace increased significantly, giving too much space to Kvaratskhelia or Bradley Barcola, who replaced the Georgian winger with seven minutes left.
In the 89th minute, PSG came close to giving the final an abrupt end as Vitinha’s shot grazed the top of the net. Barcola also shot over the bar after a counterattack with what would have been the last kick of the game.
With both teams having run out of steam, extra time was a cautious affair, and when referee Daniel Siebert blew his whistle, Arsenal had only managed one shot on target.
Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze missed his penalty before Raya saved Nuno Mendes’ attempt. Gabriel had to score to keep the Gunners’ hopes alive, but, facing PSG’s end, he fired over.
The French side were left to celebrate being European champions once again, with extra-time substitute Lucas Beraldo’s goal in the shootout proving to be the winner.
-Reuters
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Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique hailed his side’s resilience and consistency after the French champions retained the UEFA Champions League title with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Arsenal following a 1-1 draw in Saturday’s final.
The Spaniard said PSG’s performances throughout the season justified their status as European champions despite being pushed to the limit by an impressive Arsenal side.
“Maybe today both teams deserved to win, but the way we played the whole season, I think we deserve to win the Champions League,” Enrique said after the match. “We are very happy and trying to be there next year – why not?”
PSG found themselves behind early after Arsenal struck first, forcing the holders to chase the game for much of the contest.
“The match started in the best way for them,” Enrique noted. “After that, they know how to defend. It was very tough. They are strong physically and very tough.”
The victory secured a second consecutive Champions League crown for PSG, a feat that delighted the coach.
“We are still champions, two in a row, it’s amazing,” he said. “Congratulations to Arsenal. It was very tough. They played great.”
Despite adding another major title to his growing collection, Enrique brushed aside suggestions that he was cementing a legendary status.
“Legend? I’m not interested in that,” he said.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi described the achievement as even more special than the club’s maiden Champions League triumph.
“The first one was special, but winning back-to-back titles is very special for us,” he said. “We want to win again. We don’t want to stop there.”
Midfielder Joao Neves echoed those sentiments, calling his move to Paris “the best decision” of his career.
“We’ve made history at PSG, we’re all delighted,” the Portuguese international said.
Young star Desire Doue also celebrated the historic achievement, insisting the team remains hungry for further success.
“We wanted more than anything to win a second title and make history once again,” he said. “We have to stay humble. We’re going to enjoy first, and after we’re going to work again because we want more.”
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