Are Paris Saint Germain Underachievers?

382 Million = Two Players

Paris Saint Germain, better known as PSG, are one of Europe’s most famous teams. They have a very solid squad composed of great players such as World Cup winner Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, Edinson Cavani, and many more outstanding players. In recent years, they have made an attempt to improve the team, with the idea of eventually winning the UEFA Champions League, Europe’s most desired trophy and arguably the world’s hardest club competition to win. They attempted to do this by making two big and expensive transfers. In 2017, they bought Neymar from Barcelona for a reported 222 million euros and in 2017 also loaned Kylian Mbappé for one year. In 2018, they made Mbappé’s loan deal permanent and paid 160 million euros to AS Monaco to secure the signing. Spending 382 million euros on only two players was a statement, and with these transfers, there also came high expectations. Last season, people were expecting PSG to challenge for the Champions League and eventually win it in the following years. However, last season they failed to live up to the hype, and this season, the same thing is occurring.

Easy Wins

In recent years, Paris have dominated the French league, Ligue 1, winning the league 5 times in the past 6 years. However, in my opinion, Ligue 1 isn’t the most challenging league, and with the players PSG have they are expected to win the great majority of games easily– this is a very common opinion throughout the football community. People don’t give much importance when PSG win Ligue 1, as it is their expectancy to do so. PSG are on a whole different level than each of the other teams and this league is not that competitive for them. If PSG don’t win the French league, it is a failure of a season. So basically, winning the French league is a routine achievement for PSG, and they are expected to do so each year. With all of these transfers, PSG were not only looking to strengthen their dominance in the league, but they had a bigger idea in mind.

Winning the Champions League

Apart from the French league and cup games, PSG also compete in the UEFA Champions League. This is an annual tournament with 32 of the best teams throughout Europe all competing for the trophy. The winner of this tournament is considered the best team in Europe and winning this tournament is a great achievement for any club. In PSG’s history, they have never won this tournament, and with recent transferred players Neymar and Kylian Mbappé they were expected to do so. Last season, people had extremely high expectations for PSG and always overhyped them. People thought that they would go on and win the Champions League with new signings Neymar and Mbappé. Even though they won the French league by scoring goals for fun in the competition and absolutely dominating the inferior sides, they failed to get far in the Champions League. They got knocked out in the round of 16 of the UEFA champions league by Real Madrid, losing 5-1 on aggregate. Even if they had to face the eventual winners of the competition, Real Madrid, they still lost in an embarrassing manner. They failed to live up to the hype and the high expectations people put on them. Regardless of their success in the league, last season was a failure.

Impressive Stats

This season, Paris have been on fire in the league. They have won each of their thirteen games with extremely impressive stats. They stand first in the league 39 points out of a possible 39, impeccable, and they also have 13 points more than the second placed team, which is Lille (Sky Sports, 2018).They also have a goal difference (goal difference is goals scored minus goals conceded) of 38. That goal difference is 26 more than the nearest one (Montpellier with 12 goal difference). These stats are extremely impressive and show that the side is completely superior to the others. However, this can be good or bad for PSG. Because they play against inferior sides, they dominate them and easily win games. On the other hand, they also don’t improve as they are not challenged by the teams. This means that when PSG play tougher opposition in the Champions League, they aren’t ready and they often struggle in these big games. Despite all of this success in the league this season, PSG have not been as impressive in the UEFA champions league.

Disappointing Result

This season, PSG were drawn into a tough group in the Champions League. Their group consists of Napoli, Liverpool, and Red Star Belgrade. This is one of the toughest groups in the whole tournament with three “big” teams in the group (Napoli, Liverpool and PSG). In their opening match of the tournament, they lost 3-2 away against Liverpool, with Brazil star Roberto Firmino scoring a last minute winner. Although Liverpool are a very strong side, this was still a disappointing result. Afterwards, they faced Red Star Belgrade, an inferior team, and won 6-1. Their next two games were played against Napoli, which are a strong side. Despite this, PSG have a stronger squad than Napoli and were expected to win or at least dominate these games. The first game between Napoli and PSG ended 2-2 with a last minute Di Maria (PSG) goal saving PSG. This result was not a very convincing one as PSG almost lost if it wasn’t for Di Maria’s 93 minute equalizer. Weeks afterwards, Napoli and PSG played again, this time it ended 1-1, another weak result. PSG currently stand 3rd in the group (4 teams in the group). These results show that Ligue 1 (French League) doesn’t benefit PSG, as they do not play tough games that prepare them for the big games in the Champions League.

World Class Squad

Despite all of PSG’s skilled and world class players and their success in Ligue 1, they have not had success in the Champions League. Although they have a world class squad, until they go far in, or win the UEFA Champions League, they will not be considered one of Europe’s strongest team. They have consistently failed to go far in the champions league with many disappointing results despite the strong and skilled players they have had over the years. With all of PSG’s financial resources, their amazing fans, and their incredible squad, they are expected to go far in the Champions League, and despite this, they consistently disappoint and underachieve. PSG are the most overrated and underachieving side in Europe.

 

Bibliography

Bull, S. W. (2018, September 18). Roberto Firmino strikes at the death as Liverpool substitute eclipses Neymar. Retrieved from

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/09/18/liverpool-vs-psg-champions-league-live-score-latest-updates/

Ligue 1 (Sky Sports). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.skysports.com/ligue-1-table

Paris Saint-Germain – Fixtures & Results 2018/2019. (2018, November 12). Retrieved from https://www.worldfootball.net/teams/paris-saint-germain/2019/3/  

UEFA Champions League Table & Standings. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.goal.com/en/uefa-champions-league/table/4oogyu6o156iphvdvphwpck10