Why PSG suddenly became bad, causing a shocking defeat against Chelsea

Chelsea have taken a fresh and positive approach to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final, but for those who have seen PSG's impressive quadruple-winning campaign, the excitement will soon pass. Les Parisiens will settle into a familiar rhythm and destroy their opponents quickly.

But it never came. Chelsea held on, then crushed Luis Enrique’s invincibles with three quick goals in the first half. The relatively simple style of play, high pressing and long passes down the flanks that the English side provided suddenly became a problem for PSG. Despite having the entire second half to turn things around, the reigning Champions League champions were powerless to provide an answer.

Since being taken over by Qatari owners in 2011, this is only the third time PSG have conceded three goals in the first 43 minutes. They have avoided defeat twice before. But those were in Ligue 1, against Lyon (2012) and Amiens (2020). This is the international stage. They are helpless.

PSG completely lost to Chelsea.

Few expected PSG to lose, and certainly not in this way, by such a heavy margin. Luis Enrique and his players must have shared the same view. And that’s fair enough. They conceded just one goal on their way to the final, while scoring 16, including plenty of shots against Real, Bayern and Atletico. The optimism also came from the spectacular nights in the Champions League, where they won the title for the first time.

Perhaps that's why PSG entered the match with overconfidence, and then when things didn't go their way, Les Parisiens collapsed. Instead of regrouping and calmly dealing with the situation, they panicked and easily lost themselves.

Those were hasty long-range shots, confusing and hot-tempered moves. It was hard to sympathize with Joao Neves after he was shown a red card for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair, even though he was provoked by his opponent first. In shock, even coach Luis Enrique could not keep his cool, and together with Gianluigi Donnarumma, he got into a fight with Joao Pedro.

Ugly images of Luis Enrique and his students.

It must be said that Sunday night at MetLife Stadium was an unusual night for PSG. Luis Enrique’s formidable team suddenly looked strangely underperforming. Ballon d’Or contender Ousmane Dembele had just one harmless shot and never posed a threat to Chelsea’s defence. Champions League final star Desire Doue fared no better.

And Nuno Mendes, the world's best left-back, was easily outplayed by Malo Gusto in the 22nd minute, making Cole Palmer's opener inevitable. The next goal, inexplicably, saw Palmer have the freedom to dribble and finish into the far corner. Then the third, Palmer continued his unmarked run through midfield, before slotting the ball past Joao Pedro to beat Donnarumma.

Lucas Beraldo, Willian Pacho’s replacement, was largely to blame for the defensive flaws. But it was the system that was at fault, with the defensive structure unravelling and gaps constantly opening up for Chelsea to exploit. Unfortunately, Palmer’s in-formity cost them their lives.

Just a few days ago, FIFA's team of analysts praised PSG for having no weaknesses, always being a unified unit both in defense and attack. After missing out on a fifth trophy of the season, Luis Enrique's team have proven the experts wrong. Les Parisiens still need to improve. Of course, they are not the best team in the world. At the moment, that is Chelsea.