Paris Saint Germain Aiming for the UEFA Champions League

Although it’s early in the season, and clubs are still settling in after only a couple of matches, the likelihood of particular teams being involved within the headlines is never far-fetched. With that, Paris Saint Germain is one of those clubs that’ll likely be included when it comes to trophy talk.

Paris Saint Germain surprisingly lost their league crown last season to Monaco, but made up for it with an eventual redemption victory against Monaco by a score of 4-1. Unfortunately for them, Paris Saint Germain went on to lose in bizarre fashion to FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

PSG went into that particular match needing an away goal to essentially stamp their names into the next round of the competition, and thanks to Edinson Cavani, everything looked all set and done. Yet in result of Neymar’s free kick, then a later penalty which lead to a Sergi Roberto’s goal in the 95th minute, the dreams of Paris Saint Germain were crushed on the spot.

A lot has changed since then, as PSG has revamped their attack by adding Kylian Mbappe on a season-long loan, with the compulsory option of a permanent deal worth €180m. With that amount of potential income, it could make Mbappe the second-most expensive signing in history, and also the most expensive teenager in history of soccer.

In addition, the club also bought Neymar in the transfer window, which turned out to become a shocking move for the price of €222m, a world record fee for any player. Although most people doubt Neymar’s intentions on leaving the Catalan Giants, the veteran has repeated on multiple occasions that he elected to leave Barcelona to take on a new challenge, not to escape from Lionel Messi’s shadow.

Fast forward to this season’s Champions League, and PSG is absolutely running through their group by defeating Celtic (5-1), Bayern Munich (3-0), and Anderletcht (4-1).  The club has been able to fire on all cylinders this season, as they have remained unbeaten so far.

As for their Champion League hopes, it will rest mostly on their attack being able to deliver when needed, as a lot of pressure will be on Paris Saint Germain to execute on a consistent basis. The midfield of PSG has seemingly been doing all the dirty work for them, as their power players have earned each win that has been granted.

In a way, it seems as though Paris Saint Germain is building a roster that is somewhat similar to the Real Madrid team from last season, as their starting eleven is almost world class at this point.

Unai Emery needs to perfect his system, as he previously set up his club to counter attack Bayern Munich, a plan which worked well. I also think he should stick with that plan against the bigger teams, but perhaps PSG could afford to go full-on attack against the “smaller” teams.

Ultimately, Paris Saint Germain is certainly capable of reaching the final of the UEFA Champions League. In order to do so, every single one of their players must be technically and mentally ready. In terms of execution, the attack will need to deliver, as Veratti and company will surely hand the offense opportunities.

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