PARIS:
There’s the sense that the brand new season will get up and operating for actual this week for Paris Saint-Germain as they start their defence of the Champions League title amid doubts as to how for much longer their squad can deal with being pushed to the restrict by a crowded calendar.
PSG host Atalanta on Wednesday for his or her first recreation in Europe, three and a half months after their gorgeous 5-0 destruction of Inter Milan in final season’s closing in Munich.
Luis Enrique’s group may also entertain Bayern, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United within the league section, with journeys to Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Athletic Bilbao and to Lisbon to face Sporting on the horizon too.
These are robust video games, though PSG’s poor begin in final season’s Champions League has proven that they may not have to be at their best instantly.
The French champions misplaced three of eight league section video games final season, however nonetheless received Europe’s elite membership competitors for the primary time following a blinding run of kind from the flip of the 12 months.
The priority now, nonetheless, is that final season’s exertions may meet up with them and critically jeopardise their possibilities of retaining the trophy.
The Parisians performed 65 video games throughout 2024/25, in a season spanning 11 months. That included 17 matches within the Champions League and 7 within the Membership World Cup, the place their marathon marketing campaign concluded with a 3-0 loss to Chelsea in mid-July.
Three weeks later they had been again for pre-season coaching, and per week after that they began the brand new marketing campaign in opposition to Tottenham within the UEFA Tremendous Cup.
Quick ahead a month and PSG — who received the Tremendous Cup on penalties — have received their first 4 video games in Ligue 1 nevertheless it appears just like the latest efforts are starting to meet up with them.
Ballon d’Or favorite Ousmane Dembele and Want Doue are out for a number of weeks with muscle accidents suffered taking part in for France, whereas Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lee Kang-in and Lucas Beraldo got here off harm in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Lens.
“It occurs to everybody. It’s a little bit of a troublesome time for us as a result of now we have loads of gamers injured,” mentioned Luis Enrique, the coach together with his personal arm in a sling after fracturing a collarbone in a biking accident.
“I’m calm about it and I hope we’ll handle to beat it.”
It isn’t solely luck that PSG averted critical accidents final season, owing a lot to the coach’s administration of the squad.
Hakimi within the pink zone?
Nineteen PSG gamers performed greater than 1,000 minutes in 2024/25, the identical quantity as Actual Madrid and Barcelona for instance.
However the Membership World Cup, typically performed in searing warmth and involving quite a few lengthy journeys throughout america, needed to take a toll.
PSG used 19 gamers in that competitors, whereas Chelsea fielded 27 — the French aspect seemed rinsed within the closing and had been torn aside.
In the event that they do go to the latter levels of the Champions League once more, PSG are taking a look at taking part in no less than 55 video games this season, together with the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in December.
And there’s a World Cup coming on the finish of the season, the place a big bulk of PSG’s gamers will likely be current.
The 12 months is ready to be much more intense for Achraf Hakimi, who performed extra minutes than anybody else for PSG final season — he may also function closely for Morocco as they host the Africa Cup of Nations in December and January.
Hakimi has no pure understudy at right-back at PSG, who surprisingly opted to not add important depth to their squad within the switch window, signing just one new centre-back in Illia Zabarnyi, whereas Lucas Chevalier changed Gianluigi Donnarumma in aim.
“Accidents to high-profile gamers are just one seen a part of the workload disaster going through skilled soccer and usually are not shocking,” mentioned international gamers’ union FIFPro final week.
“The influence is just not felt simply by the gamers however more and more additionally by golf equipment, nationwide groups, followers and nationwide competitions.”
But regardless of the issues, there may be large pleasure at PSG as they put their title on the road in Europe.
“It’s a particular second. We all know how troublesome this competitors is, however we’re relaxed about it and we hope to place in efficiency in our first recreation,” mentioned Luis Enrique.
