The league phase of the Champions League commences next week, and defending champions Paris SG have been given a pretty tough draw as they seek to defend their European crown.
PSG secured their maiden CL title last season by dismantling Inter Milan 5-0 in the final. They actually finished a lowly 15th in the league phase, and had to play an extra playoff game against Stade Brestois to qualify for the knockouts. They demolished their fellow French side 10-0 across two legs, and then followed it up with a troika of victories against Premier League sides- Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal, in that order.
The one against Liverpool was particularly impressive given that the latter had qualified top in the league phase. Somewhat interestingly, Unai Emery’s Villa gave them a harder time in the quarters than Arsenal did in the semis, and the final, as mentioned earlier, was a one-sided affair.
Tough draw in 25/26
PSG will face two English sides at home in the league phase- Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur, and will also have to square off against Bayern Munich and Atalanta at the Parc des Princes.
The toughest of the away fixtures looks to be Barcelona, but in Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Athletic Bilbao, the Parisians have three very tricky games on the road, and the latter’s passionate supporters will make life difficult for any travelling side.
Despite their tough draw, FanDuel reckon the Parisians stand a more than decent chance of defending their title- they’re just behind Liverpool and Barcelona in the current odds.
Luis Enrique’s men will start the league phase next week against Atalanta at home. The Bergamo outfit were the best travellers in Serie A last season, finishing with a 13-3-3 record that saw them score 42 times and concede just thirteen goals in 19 games on the road. An Atalanta player- Mateo Retegui, comfortably finished top of the Italian scoring charts last season. He was the only player in the league to score more than 20 goals (25), but thankfully for Paris, has opted for a summer switch to Saudi Arabia.
A fortnight later, they’ll travel to Spain to take on Barca, and Hansi Flick will be looking to avenge their 23/24 quarterfinal defeat, where the Catalan giants won 3-2 in the French capital in the first leg, only to capitulate 4-1 at home in the second leg.
MD3 sees PSG travel to Bayer Leverkusen- the Bundesliga side aren’t as formidable an outfit now as they were under Xabi Alonso, and have sacked Erik Ten Hag after barely two months at the Bay Arena. The Werkself have also seen key players leave this summer- the likes of Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, Jonathan Tah, Granit Xhaka, Amine Adli and Piero Hincapie have all departed the club.
Week 4 sees another game against German opponents in the form of Bayern Munich, a side that are gradually improving under Vincent Kompany and remain formidable opponents.
Bayern will be followed by a game against newly crowned Europa League champions Spurs, who should’ve won the Super Cup against the Parisians last month, but somehow squandered a 2-0 lead with minutes to go and ended up losing in the shootout.
Week 6 and 7 will both be away- at Athletic Bilbao and Sporting respectively, and Week 8 will see PSG conclude their campaign at home against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.