PSG faces big challenge

Winning two consecutive European titles and the world runner-up position, PSG is still particularly worried about Atalanta in the opening match of the Champions League at 2:00 a.m. on September 18.

"Back to Earth"

Last season, coach Luis Enrique's team defeated famous opponents such as Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Real Madrid on their way to the top of the continent and the world . Two Champions League titles, the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup runner-up position are highlights in the history of this 55-year-old team.

PSG is missing almost all of its famous strikers in Europe last season. Photo: PSG

With many aspirations ahead of the new season, Paris Saint-Germain prepares for the journey to the top with all efforts but also with a lot of skepticism. PSG was once praised as the team that redefined the beauty of modern football by playing a cohesive collective style, instead of depending on a few stars. However, that seemingly invincible journey is not without flaws.

Shortly after winning the Champions League, PSG suffered a 0-3 defeat to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final. Tottenham also gave PSG a tough time in the European Super Cup before the French side decided the game with a thrilling victory in the penalty shootout.

Once their opponents have identified their style of play and found ways to neutralize it, PSG are gradually "coming back to earth". Entering the new season, except for the 6-3 victory over Toulouse, PSG has not been able to show off their trademark explosive style of play. They have not played as enthusiastically as usual and have only won by a minimum or maximum of 2 goals against "inferior" opponents in Ligue 1.

The match was not easy.

Ahead of the match against Atalanta, PSG also faces a difficult problem in terms of force when a series of pillars such as Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lee Kang-in and Désiré Doué are all absent. Atalanta, PSG's opponent in the opening match of the group, is also not in ideal form. Under the leadership of coach Ivan Juric, the Bergamo team started Serie A quite poorly, being held to a 1-1 draw by Pisa and Parma before winning 4-1 against Lecce.

Like PSG, Atalanta has big personnel problems: Gianluca Scamacca, Ademola Lookman, Ederson, Sead Kolasinac and Mitchel Bakker all missed the opening match of the Champions League due to injury. Atalanta is in trouble but PSG cannot be complacent. History shows that the capital team of Paris often has difficulties when facing opponents from Serie A. After 19 encounters, they have only won 3 matches and lost 9.

PSG's most memorable victory was against Atalanta in the quarter-finals of the 2019-2020 Champions League, where PSG came back to win 2-1 with difficulty. That statistic was enough for coach Enrique to warn his players about a difficult match, even though they were playing at home at Parc des Princes.

The lack of players capable of creating breakthroughs forces coach Luis Enrique to calculate more carefully in the attack phase, while waiting for the remaining players to shine.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/psg-doi-mat-thach-thuc-lon-19625091620310997.htm