PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain head into the Champions League knockout phase in rude health, with their crushing domination against domestic opposition making a Ligue 1 and French Cup double look highly likely and leaving them in a strong position to keep advancing in Europe.
Luis Enrique’s team head into Friday’s home clash with Monaco with a 10-point lead over Marseille at the top of Ligue 1, with the principality side a further three points behind in third.
Even a slip-up in that game against another of France’s Champions League representatives is unlikely to stop them in their procession toward a fourth straight league title, and their 11th in 13 seasons.
In midweek they eased to an uneventful 2-0 win away to third-tier Le Mans to secure a place in the French Cup quarter-finals.
The fact that almost all of their most serious rivals domestically have already been eliminated from that competition means it would be an enormous surprise if the Parisians did not now claim a record-extending 16th French Cup triumph.
PSG have not lost to French opponents in 27 games stretching back to last May, when they were beaten 3-1 at home by Toulouse having already secured the Ligue 1 title.
That is their only loss in their last 60 meetings with domestic opponents since September 2023, a record which speaks volumes for their absolutely enormous financial advantage over the rest of French football.
The Qatar-owned club’s revenue for 2024 of almost 806 million euros ($837m) put them third in the world, behind only Real Madrid and Manchester City, in analysts Deloitte’s recently published Football Money League.
The only other French clubs in the top 30 were Marseille and Lyon, whose combined revenue totalled 551 million euros.
Put simply, no wonder PSG’s French rivals cannot compete, and it does not augur well for Brest, who must now face Luis Enrique’s team in the knockout phase play-offs of the Champions League.
The first leg takes place in Brittany next Tuesday, with the return in Paris on Feb. 19.
Brest’s entire budget for this season is reported to be just under 50 million euros.
All of which means PSG should make it through to the last 16 in Europe, where either Liverpool or Barcelona await.
Meanwhile in Paris the possibility is already being raised of PSG going through the entire season without losing a game domestically.
“Records are not an objective for us,” said Luis Enrique on Friday when asked about the possibility of establishing that new record.
“What is important is to win titles. If those come with records, that is marvellous, but that is not the aim.”
The 27-year-old’s transformation from a devilish dribbler on the wing to lethal central striker has been remarkable.
The France international has scored 14 goals in his last nine appearances for PSG, going back to mid-December. Prior to that he had scored 11 times in 59 games for the capital club since arriving from Barcelona in 2023.
Dembele scored back-to-back hat-tricks against VfB Stuttgart, in the Champions League, and Brest before being rested for the win at Le Mans in midweek to keep him fresh for the coming games.
He became the first player in PSG history to score hat-tricks in successive matches — something the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Neymar and Lionel Messi were all unable to achieve.
PSG’s crushing domination leaves no hope for domestic rivals
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PSG’s crushing domination leaves no hope for domestic rivals
- PSG have not lost to French opponents in 27 games stretching back to last May
- The first leg takes place in Brittany next Tuesday, with the return in Paris on Feb. 19
Archer dismisses Australian tailenders for a 5-wicket haul to keep England in the Ashes contest
ADELAIDE, Australia: Jofra Archer dismissed Mitchell Starc for a well-made 54 and No. 11 Nathan Lyon to restrict Australia to 371 on Thursday and complete a five-wicket haul to keep England in the Ashes contest.
Archer picked up the first wicket of the third test, two more in the first over after lunch later Wednesday and the last two on Day 2 after Australia resumed at 322 for eight.
Starc made it back-to-back half centuries to continue his run of form that has earned him player-of-the-match honors in Australia’s opening eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane.
He was unbeaten on 33 overnight and quickly raced to his half-century, plundering four boundaries in the first 10 deliveries of the morning: two slashing cuts in the first over from Archer and two more to wayward deliveries from Brydon Carse.
Starc reached 50 with a single, hit the first ball of Archer’s next over to the boundary but then the England paceman bowled him with a delivery that angled in from around the stumps.
The last-wicket pair added 23 runs before Archer trapped Lyon lbw, leaving Scott Boland unbeaten on 14 from 21 deliveries.
Archer returned 5-53 from 20.2 overs for his fourth five-wicket haul in test cricket, and third in the Ashes.
Victory a must by England
England needs a victory in Adelaide to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes in this five-test series. A good batting performance in hot conditions on Thursday will help the cause, particularly with the Australians in the field and the temperature forecast to get close to 40C on Day 2.
On Wednesday, Alex Carey posted a hometown hundred and Usman Khawaja scored 82 after he was recalled at the last minute to replace Steve Smith on the eve of his 39th birthday.
Carey’s 106 was slightly contentious after he survived a review for caught behind when he was on 72. England reviewed the initial not out decision but Carey survived as decision review technology showed a noise spike before the ball had reached his bat.
The technology’s operators, BBG, later conceded after play ended that an operator error was most likely.
“Given that Alex Carey admitted he had hit the ball in question, the only conclusion that can be drawn from this, is that the Snicko operator at the time must have selected the incorrect stump mic for audio processing,” BBG founder Warren Brennan said in a statement.
Before play on Day 2, the ICC match referee restored one review to England because of the error.
